llFPLl 



A(;UT. 



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■ U T H , N 



iUT SC 



THE 

I'KHSIiNTATION OF THE PORTRAITS 



OF 



GENERAL WILLIAM WHIPPLE, 

siGxiiR OF Till-: dp:claratton or independence, 



DAVID GLASGOW FARRAGUT, 



ADMIRAL. UNITED STATES NAVY. 



November 20th, 1891, 



r.Y 



STORER POST, No. 1, 

GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC, 

Department of New Hampshire, 

— .-^ TO THK <v^- 

CITY OF PORTSMOUTH, N. H., 
WHIPPLE AND FARRAGUT SCHOOLS. 



PORTSMOUTH, N. II. 
iSyi. 



,6 



■ct/o 







I'lcpared for publication l>y 

.lOSKI'H FOSTEK, 

Sooretiiry Kntoitiiinment Cotnmittcc, Storor To^^t. 



AMERICA. 

HKV. S. F. SMITH. 

IMy country ! 'tis of thee, 
Sweet land of liberty, 

Of tliee I sing; 
lAuul where my fathers dieil, 
Land of the Pilgrim's )iride, 
From every mountain side 

I>et freedom ring. 

My native country ! thee, 
liand of the noble free, 

Thy name I love! 
I love thy rocks and rills, 
'I'liy woods and templed hills; 
My heart with rapture thrills 

I>iUe that above. 

Let music swell the l)reeze 
.\nd ring from iUl the trees. 

Sweet Freedom's song; 
liCt mortal tongues awake, 
Let all that breathe partake, 
IjCt rocks their silence break- 

The sound prolong. 

^ly father's God! to Thee, 
Author of liberty! 

To Thee we sing. 
Long may our land be bright 
With freedom's holy light; 
Protect us by Thy'.might, 

(ireat (Jod! Otir King! 



A L<'ss<ni ill l*atriotisin. 

Tlie forma' presentation to the city by 
Storer Po«t. G. A. \i.. at Music Hall last 
evcniiis:, of tlie portraits of Gen. Wil iam 
Whipple and Admiral David G. Farrai>ut. 
was an impressive occasion, and an in- 
structive lesson in patriotism, which 
wliile interesting to all present, of what- 
ever age, can hardly fail to stimulate love 
of country and elevate the ideal standard 
of honor in the minds of yonnij people 
who attended the ceremonies. The re- 
cital, more tlian a century after General 
Whipple's death, of his eminent services 
as statesman, soldier and jnri<t duri ijr 
the stormy years of the nation's infancy ; 
the outline li story of what Admiral Far- 
ragut, the greatest nava! genius of mod- 
ern times, achieved for the nation during 
the gloomy period of the war of st ces- 
sion ; the.^e stories of departed lieroes and 
patriots related by men themselves hav- 
ing record of most honorable service, and 
listened to reverently by a throng of 
others of similar record, whose deeds are 
part of the nation's history, and by many 
who liave been wortliily honored by the'r 
fellow citizens in civil position, must tmd 
to the elevation of yonthful ambi ion, and 
the healthy growth of patriotic senlimenr 
in the young. 

The cfl'ect may not be immediately 
apparent, but it will be permanent, and 
increase witli year's as memory recal's the 
event to the raaturer mind. One such 
incident as the presentation ceremony of 
last evening may do much to point out the* 
path of honor and true g ory to youtli 
whose ambitious ideas have been per- 
verted by the trashy literature of thed :iy. 
Too many such lessons cannot be given. 
(Ktiitorial, Times, 11 Xovembor, IS'.il.) 



WHIPPLE m mimi 



Their Portraits Presented to 
the City by Storer Post. 



iQterestiDg Exercises in Masic Hall. 



Large Audience Listens to 
Eloquent Addresses by Com- 
rades Foster and Sniitli. 



"O, true clescenclant of a patriot line, 
Vouchsafelthis'picluve ot tbyself to see" 

Within the walls of Music hall was 
gathered a patriotic host on the evening 
of November 20th, 1891. It was to wit- 
ness the presentation by New Hampshire's 
pioneer Grand Army Post, Storer, No. 
One, of Portsmouth, of the'portraits of 
General William ^Whipple and A<1miral 
David Glasgow. Farragut to the city, 
for the respective new school buildings 
bearing the honored names of these dis- 
tinguished heroes of difl'drent eras. 

It was treading the path to noble ends 
when these veterans of the late war con- 
ceived this idea, and the culmination of 
their desires I" in the exercises of Friday 
evening marked another epoch, so to 
speak, in the history of good deeds! for 
which this organization has always been 
noted, deeds such as have written tender 
poems on many hearts and whose acts 
will remain as enduring as memory and as 
substantial as our Granite hills. 

The public, too has been grateful to ac- 
knowledge the work of Storer Post and 
in this last great assemblage at Music hall 
with its manifest interest was found that 
renewal of fraternity and appreciation 
which must have made glad the hearts of 
the old veterans. 



Hon. and Alderman Charles P. Berry, 
ably filled the position of chairman of the 
meeting, and to his keen tact and fore- 
sight was due the fact that there was a 
happy avoidance of any tedious delays in 
the general exercises. Among those 
seated with him on the stage were the city 
government, board of instruction, officers 
of Sto'^er Post, and ex-mayors of Ports- 
mouth. Two sons of the revolution, 
Moses Yeat^n and Samuel S. Green, of 
Portsmouth, were also among the invited 
guests. 

Occupying commanding positions upon 
the stage and resting upon easels were 
the two magnificent portraits in oil of the 
distinguished General William Whipple 
and the ititrepid Admiral David Glasgow 
Farragut, both the centre of attraction 
and admiration of the great multitude 
present. 

The front rows of seats in the parquet 
were occupied by children of the Whipple 
and Farragut schools, while immediately 
in their rear was Storer Post, the remain- 
der of the hall being completely lilled with 
an interested audience. 

The meetiDg was opened by the follow- 
ing 

Address from Chairman Berry. 
Members of Storer Pos'. and the City 
Government of Portsmouth, 
Ladies and Gentlemen : -Having con- 
sented some time since to act in the ca- 
pacity of chairman of a meeting called by 
a joint committee of St"rer Post and the 
City Government, to take action on the 
matter for which we are tonight assem- 
bled, I find devolving upon me and at this 
auspicious time the duty to act in the 
same capacity in conjunction with the 
commander of Storer Post. 

While I am quite sure that there are 
many others who could fill the duties of 
the office much befer than myself, yet 
with your kind indulgence I will endeavor 
to serve you to the best of my ability. 

I presume you are all aware for what 
purpose we have met, but for fear there 
may be some one present who does not 
fully understand, I will simply state that 
Storer Post, at great expense and much 
sacrifice on their part, have had painted 
two beautiful portraits, one of Admiral 
Farragut and one of Gen. Whipple, 
which they are about to present to the 



6 



city, that they may adorn the walls of the 
schools bearing their respective names. 

And now without further intruding 
upon your time knowiug that the exer- 
cises will be much more interesting to 
you than any remarks lean offer, I will 
call upon the children to open the same 
with music. 

The response was a spirited rendering 
of "America" by the scholars present 
representing the two schools, Wendell P. 
Brown of the Haven school, direct- 
ing, and Harry Osgood, one of the Sons 
of Veterans, presiding at the piano. 

At the conclusion of the sona Chairman 
Berry arose and introduced Commander 
Joseph R. Curtis of Storer Post, G. A. 
R , who in behalf of that organization 
spoke as follows : 

latrodnctory of Commander Curtis. 

Ladies and Gentlemen : The occasion 
which calls U3 together tonight is one 
that has long been looked forward to 
with peculiar pleasure and interest by 
the comrades of Storer Post No. 1, Dep't. 
of New Hampshire, Grand Army of the 
Republic. I will not stop at this stage of 
the meeting to state the object of our as- 
sembling. 

The purposes and hopes which have 
animated the breasts of my comrades- in 
their work of procuring these ma^niflsent 
and lifelike portraits of William Wnipple 
and David Glasgow Farragut for presen- 
tation to the city of Portsmouth for the 
splendid public school buildings bearing 
their names, will, I trust, be clearly set 
forth in the exercises that are to follow. 

Before proceeding with the pleasurable 
duty assigned me by my comrades, I will 
call upon Comrade Joseph Foster , to 
whose enthusiasm, perseverance and un- 
flagging zeal much of the success which 
culminates so happily tonight is due, to 
address you on the life and career of that 
distinguished statesman, patriot and 
soldier. General William Whipple, Ports- 
mouth's Signer of the Declaration of In- 
dependence. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the pleas- 
ure of introducing to you Comrade Joseph 
Foster, Paymaster U. S. Navy. 

Address of Comrade Joseph Foster. 

Mr. Chairman, Gentlemen of the City 
Government of Portsmouth, Friends 
and Comrades : 

"When, in the course of human events, 
it becomes necessary for one people to dis- 
solve the political bands which have con- 
nected them with another, and to assume 
among the powers of the earth the separate 
and equal station to which the laws of na- 
ture and of nature's God entitle them, a 



decent respect to the opinions of mankind 
requires that they should declare the causes 
which impel them to the separation. 

We hold these 'ruths to be self-evident- 
that all men are created equal; that they 
areendoA'ed by their Creator with cer- 
tain inalienable rights ; that among these 
are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi- 
ness. That to secure these rights 
governments are instituted among men 
deriving their just powers from the 
consent of the governed ; that whenever 
any form of government becomes de- 
structive of these ends it is the right of 
the people to alter or to abolish it, and to 
institute a new government, laying its 
foundatim on such principles and organ 
izing its powers in such form a-i to them 
shall seem mostlikely to efl'ect their safety 
and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will 
dictate that governments long established 
should not be changed for light and 
transient causes; and. accordingly, all 
experience hath shown that mankind are 
more disposed to suffer, while evils are 
sufferable, than to right themselves by 
abolishing the forms to which they are 
accustomed. 

But, when a long train of abuses and 
usurpations, pursuing invariably the same 
object, evinces a design to reduce them 
under absolute despotism, it is their right, 
it is their duty, to throw off suoh govern- 
ment and to provide new guards for thdr 
future security. Such has been the pa- 
tient sufferacce of these colonies, and 
such is now the necessity which con- 
strains them to alter their former systems 
of government. The history of the 
present king of Great Britain is a history 
of repeated injuries and usurpations, all 
having, in direct object, the establishment 
of an absolute tyranny over these states. 
******** 
We, therefore, the representatives of 
the United States of America, in general 
congress assembled, apoealing to the 
Supreme Judge of the world for the rec- 
titude of our intentions, do, in the name 
and by the authority of the good people 
of these colonies, solemnly publish and 
declare that these united colonies are, 
and of right ought to be, free and inde- 
pendent states ; that they are absolved 
from all allegiance to the British crown, 
and that all political connection between 
them and the state of Great Britain is, 
and ouicht to be, totally dissolved ; and 
that as free and independent states, they 
have full power to levy war, conclude 
peace, contract alliances, establish com- 
merce, and to do all other acts and things 
which independent states may of right do. 
And, for the support of this declaration, 
with a firm reliance on the protection of 
Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to 



each other our lives, our fortunes, and our 
sacred honor." 

To these eloquent words of Thomas 
Jefferson, the Magna Charta of American 
freedom, and the seed, which planted in 
the hearts of lovers of liberty throughout 
the world, has brought so many blessiugs 
to all mankind, was signed the name of a 
citizen of Portsmouth, who, carrying out 
his own patriotic Instincts and the earnest 
desire of our grandfathers, with Josiah 
Bartlett, of Kingston, and Matthew Thorn- 
ton, of Londonderry, his fellow-delegates 
from New Hampshire, united with fifty- 
three delegates from the other colonies in 
this tbe grandest act of all history, and 
thus forever immortalized his name on the 
roll of those supporters and protectors of 
human rights and universal liberty whom 
we proudly hail as the greatest benefac- 
tors of mankind. 

The local Post of the Grand Army of 
the Republic, which is in its very essence 
an historical society, realizing a few 
months since that the name of this, our 
most illustrious citizen, had almost passed 
from memory among us, appointed a com- 
mittee to wait upon the City Government 
and ask that the name of our Port&mouth 
signer of the Declaration of Independence 
might be given to the new school house 
on State street, and in acknowledgment 
of thtir courtesy in accepting the sugges- 
tion and adopting this name, Storer Post 
has caused this beautiful oil portrait of 
William Whipple to be painted for pre- 
sentation to the city to be placed in the 
room occupied by the senior class at 
Whipple school. 

History is the most interesting of 
studies, for truth is always stranger and 
more impressive than Action, but to the 
mind of childhood it mnst be mi ist difficult 
to place evt-nts in their proper positions 
on the ladder cf time, anri G<n,ly^^)urg, 
Bunker Hill, Waterloo and Maiaihon, 
with a thousand other events in the 
world'd^history, must often be confusedly 
intermingled 

But the history of our own country 
should be foremost in every thought and 
the love of Union and Liberty should be 
planted deep in the heart of childhood, 
and to this end Storer Post places this 
portrait in the Whipple school, a portrait 
presented by Portsmouth men who fought 
at Antietam, suffered at Andersonville 
and triumphed at Gettysburg, — battled 
with Farragut and Porter, and conquered 
with Winslow on our own "Kearsarge" — 
that an object lesson should thus be given 
to the children of Portsmouth, which may, 
year after year, for many a day to come, 
be interpreted to them by their teachers, 



as the connecting link with many events 
of local and national history. 

For this portrait will point the way to 
the birthplace of William Whipple, in 
Kittery, on the other bank of our noble 
Piscataqua, to his residence on Market 
street, where, south of the house, yet 
stands the magnificent horse-chestnut 
tree planted by him, and to the grave in 
the North cemetery where his ashes 
rest,— and will thus teach, through him, 
in the most realistic way, the story of the 
American Revolution. 

It is my privilege tonight to first in- 
terpret its lesson and ti- tell the story of 
the Declaration of Independence, and of 
the life of Williani Whipple; and if I 
seem to choose too frequently the phrases 
of another who made a study of the 
lives of tbe Signers,* you will gain in 
exactness of statement and in eloquence 
of words what you may lose in originali- 
ty, and will therefore, I am quite sure, be 
very willing to pardou my choice in this 
matter. 

"With the commencement of the year 
1776, the aflairs of the colonies, and 
certainly the views of their pilitical 
leaders, began to assume a new aspect, 
one of m->re energy, and with motives 
and objects more decided and apparent. 
Eighteen months had passed away since 
the colonists had learned by the intrench- 
ments at Boston, that a report to arms 
was an event, not beyond the con- 
templation of the British ministry. 

Nearly a year had elapsed, since the 
fields of Concord and Lexington had 
been stained with hostile blood ; during 
this interval, armies had been raised, 
vessels of war had been equipped, forti- 
fications had been erected, gallant exploits 
had benn performed, and eventful battles 
had been lost and won; yet still were the 
provinces bound to their British brethren, 
by the ties of a similar allegiance; still 
did they lonk upon themselves as mem- 
bers of the same empire, subjects of the 
same sovereign, and partners in the same 
constitution and laws. 

Every expedient, however, short of 
unconditional separation, had now been 
tried by congress, — but in vain. It ap- 
peared worse than useless, longer to pur- 
sue measures of open hostility, and yet to 
hold out the promises of reconciliation. 
The time had arrived when a more decid- 
ed stand must be taken,— the circum- 
stances of the nation demanded it, the 
success of the struggle depended on it. 
The best and wisest men had become con- 
vinced, that no accommodation could take 
place, and that a course which was not 



* "Sanderson's Biography of the Signers to the Declaration of Inclepenrtence, revisea 
and edited by Kobert T. Conrad," Philadelphia, 1846, 



8 



marked by decision, would create dissatis- 
faction among the resolute, wliile it 
would render more uncertain the feeble 
and the wavering. 

During the spring of 177G, therefore, 
the question of independence became one 
of very general interest and reflection 
among all classes of the nation. It was 
taken into consideration by some of the 
colonial legislatures, and in Virginia a 
resolution was adopted io favor of its 
immediate declaration 

Under these circumstances, the subject 
was brought directly before congress, on 
Friday, the seventh of June, I77G," when 
Richard Ilenrv Lee, of Virginia, "moved 
'that these United Colonies are, and of 
right ought to ha, free and independent 
states; that they are absolved from all 
allegiance to the British crown ; and that 
all political connection between them and 
the state of Gr« at Britain is, and ought to 
be, totally dissolved.' " "It was discussed 
very fully on the following Saturday and 
Monday," and "on [Monday] the tenth of 
June it was resolved, 'that the considera- 
tion of the resolution respecting indepen- 
dence be postponed till the first Monday 
in July next; and in the meanwhile, that 
no time be lost, in case the congress agree 
thereto, that a committee be appointed to 
prepare a declara-ion to the effect of the 
said resolution.'" 

This committee cf-nsi.->ted of Thomas 
Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of 
Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of 
Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connec- 
ticut, and Robert R. Livingston of New 
York; Mr. Lee, the orignal mover of 
the resolution, being called home by "the 
dangerous illne.«s of some members of his 
family;" "and to Mr. Jefferson, the chair- 
man of the committee, was ultimately as- 
signed the imoortant duty of preparing 
the draught of the document, for the for- 
mation of which they had been appointed. 

The task thus devolved upon Mr. 
Jefferson, was of no ordinary magnitude; 
aad required the exercise of no common 
judgment and foresight. To frame such 
a document, was the effort of no common 
mind. That of Mr. Jefferson proved fully 
equal to] the tahk. His labors received 
the immediate approbation and sanction 
of the committee : and their opinion has 
been confirmed by the testimony of suc- 
ceeding years, and of every nation where 
it has been known. 

On the twenty-eighth of June, the 
Declaration of Independence was pre- 
sented to congress, and read. On the 
first, second, and third of July, it was 
taken into full consideration; and on ihe 
fourth, it was agreed to after several al- 
terations, and considerable omissions had i 



been made in the draught, as it was first 
framed by the committee." 

"When the question of independence 
was put, in a committee of the whole, on 
the first of July, . . . and the pres- 
ident resumed the chair, the chairman of 
the committee of the whole made his re- 
port, which was not acted upon until 
Thursday, July 4. Every s' ate, excepting 
Pennsylvania and Delaware, had voted in 
favor of the measure, but it was a matter 
of great importance to procure an unani- 
mous voice." The return of one of the 
DeUware members, who was in favor of 
the Declaration, secured the voice of 
that state on the fou'-th of July, and "two 
of the members of the Pennsylvania dele- 
gation adverse to the measure, being 
absent, that state was also united in the 
vote, by a majority of one. By these 
means, the Dec a'ation of Independence 
became the unanimous act of the thirteen 
states." 

"Speaking of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence," Thomas Jefferson said, "that 
'John Adams was the pillar of its support 
on the floor of congress; its ablest advo- 
cate and defender against the multifa- 
rious assaults it encountered.' " 

"The transport of his [Mr. Adams'] 
feelings, the exuberance of his 
joy, on . . . [the adoption of the Dec- 
laration,] may be seen most vividly por- 
trayed in the letter which he wrote to 
Mrs. Adams on ihe succeeding day — a let- 
ter that is memorable, and now embalmed 
in American history, simply because it is 
so true and inartificial an effusion of 
ardent, enlightened, and disinterested 
palriofsm. 

'Yesterda'^*' he says, 'the greatest ques- 
tion was decided, Ih-it was ever debated 
in America ; and greater, perhaps, never 
was or will be decided among men. A 
resolution was passed, without one dis- 
sen'ing clony, 'that these United S'a'es 
are, and of right ought to be, free and 
independent states'. The day is passed. 
The fourth of July, 177G, will be a mem- 
orable epoch in the history of America. 
I am apt to believe it wi.l be celebrated, 
by succeeding generations, as the great 
anniversary festival. It ought to be 
commemorated as the day of deliverance, 
by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty 
God. It ought to be solemnized with 
pomps, shows, games, sports, guns, bells, 
bonfires, and illuminations, from one end 
of the continent to the other, from this 
time forward for ever. You will think 
me transported with enlhusinsm, but I am 
not. I am well aware of the toil, and 
blood, and treasure, that it will cost to 
maintain this declaration, and support and 
defend these states ; yet through all the 



gloom, I can see the rays of light and 
g'ory. I can see that the end is worth 
more than all the means ; and that pos- 
terity will triumph, although you and I 
may rue, which I hope we shall not." 

On the 15th day of June, 1776, the New 
Hampshire Legislature had instructed the 
delegates in Congress from New Hamp- 
shire, to join with the other colonies in 
declaring the thirteen United Colonies a 
free and independent state. 

And "on that memorable day, [when] 
the decisive vote was taken, which re- 
sulted in the unanimous declaration of all 
the states in favor of independence, [New 
Hampshire spoke flist, for] in taking the 
question the northernmost colony was 
tirst called on, and Dr. [Josiah] Bartlett, 
[of New Hampshire, born 1729, died 
1795] had the accidental, but interesting 
duty of first giving his voice in favor of 
the resolution." 

And William Whipple of Portsmouth, 
the only other delegate from New Hamp- 
shire, then serving in congress, was 
doubtless the second to give his vote in 
favor of Independence. 

For, "un the twenty third of January, 
1776, a second election for delegates 
[from New Hampshire] to the continen- 
tal Congress [had] occurred" and Josiah 
Bartlett of Kingston, and "his m(.st at- 
tached personal friends, William Whipple 
and John Langdon," of Portcmouth, were 
chosen. The two former "long served" 
with each other "in Congress, and their 
signatures are found together on the 
charter of Independence. Mr. Langdon, 
owing to an anpointment to another of- 
fice lost the opportunity of recording his 
patriotic sentiments in the same conspic- 
uous manner." 

"On the twelfth of September. 1776," 
Matthew Thornton, of Londonderry, born 
1714, died 1803 "was appointed, by the 
house of representatives, a delegate to 
represent the state of New Hampshire in 
Congress, dunng the term of one year. 
He did not take his seat in that illustrious 
body until the fourth of November fol- 
lowing, being four months afcer the pas- 
sage of the Declaration of Independence; 
but he immediately acceded to it, and was 
permitted to place his signature on the 
engrossed copy of the instrument;, among 
those of the fifty-six worthies, who have 
immortalized their names by that mem- 
orable and magnanimous act." 

"The Declaration of Independence 
. . . was accompanied in its first 
publication by the ^ignature of Mr Han- 
cock alone," and "the manmcript public 
journal has no names annexed to the Dec- 
laration of Independence, nor has the secret 
journal; but it appears by toe latter, that 
on the ninetegpth day of July, 177G, the 



Congress directed that it should be eu- 
gressed on parchment, and signed by ev- 
ery member, and that it was so produced 
on the second of August, and signed. 
This is interlined in the secret journal, 
in the hand of Charles Thomson, the 
secretary." 

"The printed journals of Congress, in- 
deed, make it appear, that the Declaration 
of Independence was adopted and signed 
on the fourth of July, by the gentlemen 
whose names are subscribed to it under 
the head of that date. But this impres- 
sion is incorrect; because, in fact not 
one signature was affixed to the Declara- 
tion until the second of August. The 
idea of signing does not appear to have 
occurred immediately ; for not until the 
nineteenth of July . . . did the resolu- 
tion pass, directing the Declaration to be 
engrossed on parchment. This was ac- 
cordingly done; and on the second of 
August following, when the engrossed 
copy was prepared, and not before, the 
Declaration was signed by the members, 
who on that day were present in congress. 
. . . Those members who were absent on 
the second of August, subscribed the 
Declaration as soon after as opportunity 
offered. 

The engrossed copy of the Declaration 
of Independence was placed on the desk 
of the secretary of congress, on the 
second of August, to receive the signa- 
tures of the members, and Mr. Hancock, 
president of congress, during a conversa- 
tion with Mr [Charles] Carroll [of Mary- 
land, who had only taken his seat on the 
eighte 'nth of the previous month], asked 
him if he would sign it. 'Most willingly', 
was the reply, and taking a pen, he at 
once put his name to the instrument. 
'There goes a few millions,' said one of 
those who stood by ; and all present at the 
time agreed, that in point of fortune, few 
risked more than Charles Carroll of 
CarroUton." 

The case of Mr. Carroll was not singu- 
lar, for besides Dr. Thornton of New 
Hampshire, already mentioned, five of 
the Pennsylvania delegates who signed 
the Declaration were not present in con- 
gress on the fourth of July, 1776, "not 
having been chosen delegates by the 
legislature of Pennsylvania until the 
twentieth day of that month," "to succeed 
those members of the Pennsylvania 
delegation, who had refused their assent 
to the Declaration of Independence, and 
abandoned their seats in congress." 

William Ellery, one of the Signers from 
Rhode Island, in after years, "often spoke 
of the signing of the Declaration ; and he 
spoke of it, as an event which many 
regarded with awe, perhaps with un- 
certainty, but none with fear. 'I was de- 



10 



tertnined,' he used to say, 'to see 
how they all looked, as they signed what , 
might be their death warrant. I plafPd 
myself beside the secretary, Charles 
Thomson, and eyed each closely as he 
affixed his name to the document. Un- 
daunted resolution was displayed in 
every countenance.' " 

"When the fiftieth anniversary of the 
Declaration of Independence approached, 
two only of the committee that prepared 
that document, and of the Congress that 
voted its adoption and promulgation, and 
one more besides of those who inscribed 
their names upon it, yet survived." 

'"Lilie the books of the SybU, the 
living signers of the Declaration of 
Independence increased in value as they 
diminished in number.' On the third of 
July, 1826, three only remained, — John 
Adams, Thomas Jefterson, and Charles 
Carroll of Carrollton. On the fourth of 
July, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the 
day on which they pledged their all 
to their country, when the ten millions 
who were indebted to them for liberty, 
were celebrating the year of jubilee; 
when the names of the three signers were 
on every lip, John Adams and Thomas 
Jefi'erson died, leaving Charles Carroll of 
Carrollton the last link between the past 
and" that "generation." 

"That such an anniversary should be 
the day appointed for the departure of 
the two CO laborers" was a startling co- 
incidence, and "the universal burst of 
feeling in all parts of this country, 
showed that the nation recognized some- 
thing in the dispensation beyond the 
ordinary laws of human existence." 

"They departed cheered by the bene- 
dictions of their country, to whom they 
left the inheritance of their fame, and 
the memory of their bright example." 

"On the fourteenth of November, 1832, 
Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the last of 
the signers, full of years and full of hon- 
ors, closed his earthly career [aged 95 
years]. A nation's tears were shed upon 
his grave ; a nation's gratitude hallows his 
memory." 

"They pledged their lives, their for- 
tunes, and their sacred honor; and not 
one was false to the pledge— not one ! 
They sufi'ered much; some died from 
hardships encountered, some were im- 
prisoned, many were impoverished, and 
all were tempted by promises, and men- 
aced by the wrath of what seemed, for a 
time, an earthly omnipotence : but all stood 
firm. There was doubt previous to the 
declaration — none after. Every name 
shone brighter as the darkness thickened. 
Each patriot was a sun that stood fast 
. . . until the battle of independence bad 
been fought and won." 



" 'They are no more, tbey are dead. Bat 

how little is there of the great and good 
which can die! To their count) y Ihey 
yet live, and live for ever. They live in 
all that perpetuates the remembrance of 
men on earth : in the recorded proofs of 
their own great actions, in the oflfspring 
of their intellect, in the deep engraved 
lines of public gratitude, and in the re- 
spect and homage of mankind. They live 
in their example; and they live, emphat- 
ically, and will live, in the ii flaence 
which their lives and *fi"orts, their prin- 
ciples and opinions, now exercise, and 
will continue to exercise, on the afl'airs of 
men, not only in their own country, but 
hroughout the civilized world.' " 

The Declaration of Independence was 
publicly proclaimed in Portsmouth, on 
the 18th of July, 1776, from the steps, 
facing on King street, of the Old State 
House, built in 1758 upon a ledge of rocks 
occupying the centre of our present 
M arket square, which stooa there un- 
til removed in 1837; and when the read- 
ing was finished, Thomas Manniig, a de- 
voted patriot of Portsmruth, some of 
whose descendants now attend the Whip- 
ple school, threw His hat in the air, 
shouting "Huzza for Congress street," 
which then and there became its name; a 
uanic which in memory of the Congress of 
177(! it will, I trust, forever bear. This 
story of the naming of Congress street is 
perhaps familiar to every Portsmouth cit 
izcu, and doubtless each also knows the 
locality of Liberty bridge, and I trust its 
story, too. But while all may know these 
in- idents of our local history, and that the 
first overt act of the Revolution was the 
capture on the night of the 13th of De- 
cember, 1774, at Fort William and Mary, 
now Fort Constitution, by the patriots of 
Portsmouth and vicinity, of the powder, 
which a little later was so bravely ex- 
pended at Bunker Hill, yet few realize the 
fact that this William Whipple,— illustri- 
ous both in state and field — besides sign- 
ing the Declaration of Independence, took 
a prominent part in the capture of Bur- 
goyne, a victory which delivered the Amer- 
ican cause from the greatest peril and 
brought joy without measure to the peo- 
ple, and that in behalf of General GiUs 
tie signed the articles of capitulation of 
the British troops ; and afterward was 
one of the ofiicers under whose charge 
they were conducted to their place of 
encampment on Winter hill, near Boston. 

Let me tell his story as bri'-fiy as I may. 

William Whipple was the son of Capt. 
William Whipple, senior, of Kittery, Me., 
a native of Ipswich, Mass., (wtiitber hia 
great grandfather, Elder John Whipple, 
came from Essex, England, in or before 
1639) who die^ the 7Dh of August, 1751, 



11 



aged 56 years. William Whipple, the son, 
was born the 14th of January, 1730, in the 
" Whpple garrison houst" on Whipple's 
cove, Kittery, his father's house, and pre- 
viously the home of his maternal grand- 
father and great grandfather, Robert 
Cutt, first and second, where Harrison J. 
Philbrick now resides. 

He was educated in the public schools 
of Kittery, af^d early went to sea, as did 
so many kittery and Portsmouth boys 
from that time up to the breaking out of 
the Rebellion, for a "Life on the Ocean 
Wave" was for many years the most 
promising one here open to an energetic and 
ambitious boy. He obtained the com- 
mand of a vessel before he was twenty- 
one years of age, and engaged in the 
European, West India and African trade, 
in one voyage, at least, bringing slaves, it 
is said, to this country from Africa, for 
at that time, more than one hundred and 
thirty years ago, and for thirty or forty 
years afterwards, slaves were held in 
New Hampshire; and, indeed, the consti- 
tution of the United States authorized 
their importation from Africa into this 
couDtry until the year 1808, fifty years 
later. 

In 1759, at the age of 29, he abandoned 
the sea entirely, and entered into business 
in Portsmouth with his brother, under the 
firm name of William and Joseph Whip- 
ple, which connection lasted till about 
two years previous to the Revolution. 

"At an early period of the contest, he 
took a decided part in favor of the colo- 
nies, in their opposition to the claims of 
Great Britain ; and his townsmen, placing 
the highest confidence in his patriotism 
and integrity, frequently elected him to 
offices which required great firmness and 
moderation. In January, 1775, he was 
chosen one of the representatives of the 
town of Portsmouth to the piovincial 
congress, held at Exeter for the purpose 
of choosing delegates to the general con- 
gress, which was to meet in Philadelphia 
on the tenth of May following. 

When the disputes between the two 
countries were approaching to a crisis, 
the provincial committee of safety of 
New Hampshire recommended that a 
provincial congress should be formed, for 
the purpose of directing and managing 
the public afi'airs of the state during the 
term of six months. The delegates from 
the town of Portsmouth were five in 
number, among whom was Captain 
Whipple. He accordingly attended the 
meeting of the congress, which convened 
at Exeter in the beginning of May, 1775, 
and was elected by that body one of the 
provincial committee of safety, who were 
to regulate the afi'airs of government dur- 
ing the war. In the early part of the 



same year, he was also chosen one of the 
committee of safety for the town of 
Portsmouth. 

At the close of the year 1775, the people 
of New Hampshire assumed a form of 
government, consisting of a house of 
representatives and a council of twelve, 
the president of which was the chief ex- 
ecutive officer. Mr. Whipple was chosen 
one of the council, on the sixth of Jan- 
uary, 177G, and on the twenty third of the 
same month, a delegate to the general 
congress : he took his seat on the 29 th of 
February following. He continued to 
be re- elected to that distinguished situa- 
tion in the years 1777, 1778, and 1779, and 
applied himself with diligence and ability 
to the discharge of its duties, when the 
military services which he rendered during 
that period permitted him to be an aoting 
member of the New Hampshire delegation. 
In the middle of September, 1779, he 
finally retired from congress, after having 
attended, without the least intermission, 
at his post of duty, from the fifth of the 
preceding month of November. 

Whilst in congress, he was considered a 
v.-ry useful and active member, and dis- 
charged the duties of bis office in a manner 
aliBe honorable to himself and satisfac- 
tory to his constituents. In the current 
and committed business of the house, he 
displayed equal perseverance, ability, and 
application. His early pursuits rendered 
him particularly useful as a member of the 
committees of marine and of commerce; 
and, as one of the superintendents of the 
commissary's and quarter-master's depart- 
ments, he labored, with much assiduity, 
to correct the abuses which had prevailed, 
and to place those establishments upon 
such a footing as might best conduce to the 
public service. When the depreciation of 
the continental currency became excessive, 
he strongly opposed new emissions of 
paper, as tending to the utter destruction 
of public confidence. 

Soon after Mr. Whipple's return to New 
Hampshire [in 1777], he was called on to 
exercise his patriotism in scenes and 
modes yet untried. He had buffeted the 
waves as a seaman; he tad pursued the 
peaceful occupations of a merchant; 
and he had distinguished himself as a 
Ipgislator and a stateman ; but he was 
now called on to undergo the severer 
personal duties, and to gather the more 
conspicuous laurels of a soldier. The 
overwhelming force of Burgoyne having 
compelled the American troops to 
evacuate their strong post at Ticonderoga, 
universal alarm prevailed in the north. 
The committee of the 'New Hampshire 
Grants,' which had now formed them- 
selves into a separate state, wrote in the 
most pressing terms to the committee of 



12 



safety at Exeter, for assistance. The 
assembly of New Hampshire was immedi- 
ately convened, and adopted the most 
effectual and decisive measures for the 
defence of the country. They formeel 
the whole militia of the state into two 
brigades, giving the command of the first 
to "William Whipple, and cf the second 
to General Stark. General Stark was 
immediately ordered to march, 'to stop 
the progress of the enemy on our western 
frontiers', with one-fourth of his brieade, 
and one-fourth of three regiments belong- 
ing to the brigade of General Whipple. 

Burgoyne, presuming that no more 
effectual opposition would be made, 
flattered himself that he might advance 
«rithoat much annoyance. To the accom- 
plishments and experience of his officers, 
was added a formidable train of artillery, 
with all the apparatus, stores, and equip- 
ments, which the nature of the service 
required. His army was principally 
composed of veteran corps of the best 
troops of Britain and Germany, and 
American loyalists furnished it with 
spies, scouts, and rangers : a numerous 
body of savages, in their own dress and 
with their own weapons, and characteris- 
tic ferocity, increased the terrors of its 
approach. 

Flushed by a confidence in his superior 
force, and deceived in his opinion of the 
number of friendly loyalists, the British 
general despatched Lieutenant- Colonel 
Baum from Fort Edward, with about 
fifteen hundred of his German troops, 
and a body of Indians, to overrun the 
'Grants' as far as the Connecticut river, 
for the purpose of collecting horses to 
mount the dragoons, and cattle, both tor 
labor and provisions. He was encoun- 
tered at Bennington by the intrepid Stark, 
who carried the works which he had con- 
structed, by assault, and killed or cap- 
tured the greater part of his detachment; 
a few only escaped into the woods, and 
saved themselves by flight. 

This victory gave a severe check to the 
hopes of the enemy, and revived the spir- 
its of the people after a long depression. 
The courage of the militia increased with 
their reputation, and they found that 
neither British nor German regulars were 
invincible. Burgoyne was weakened and 
disheartened by the event, and beginning 
to perceive the danger of his situation, he 
now considered the men of New Hamp- 
soire and the Green Mountains, whom he 
had viewed with contempt, as dangerous 
enemies. . . . 

The northern army was now reinforced 
oy the militia of all the neighboring 
states. Brigadier General Whipple 
marched with a great part of his brigade ; 
and volunteers from all parts of New 



Hamoshire hastened in great numbers to 
join the standard of General Gates. In 
the desperate battles of Stillwater and of 
Saratoga, the troops of New Hampshire 
gained a large share of the honor due to 
the American army. The consequence of 
these engagements was the surrender 
of General Burgoyne. When the 
British army capitulated, he was 
appointed, with Colonel Wilkinson, as the 
representative of General Gates, to meet 
two ofticers from General Burgoyne, for 
the purpose of propounding, discussing, 
and settling several subordinate articles 
and regulations springing f r 'm the pre- 
liminarv proposals of the British general, 
and which required explanation and pre- 
cision before the definitive treaty could 
be properly executed. By concert with 
Major Kingston, a tent was pitched be- 
tween the advanced guards of the two 
armies, where they met Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel Sutherland, and Captain Craig of the 
forty-seventh regiment, on the afternoon 
of the sixteenth of October, 1777. Hav- 
ing produced and exchanged credentials, 
they proceeded to discuss the objects of 
their appointment, and in the evening 
signed the articles of capitulation. After 
the attainment of this grand object, Gen- 
eral Whipple was selected as one of the 
officers, under whose command the British 
troops were conducted to their destined 
encampment on Winter hill, near Boston. 
General Whipple was attended on this 
expedition by a valuable negro servant 
named Prince, whom he had imported 
from Africa many years before. On his 
way to the army, he told his servant that 
if they should be called into action, he 
expected that be would behave like a man 
of courage, and fight bravely for his 
country. Prince replied, 'Sir, I have no 
inducement to fight ; but if I had my liber- 
ty, I would endeavor to defend it to the 
last drop of my blood.' The General 
manumitted him on the spot. . . . 

Nor was the expedition against Bur- 
goyne the only military affair that Mr. 
Whipple was engaged in during his ab- 
sence from congress. 

It may be recollected that in the latter 
part of the summer [of 1778], when Count 
d'Estaing had abandoned his project of 
attacking the British fleet at New York, a 
plan was formed for his co- operation 
with General Sullivan in retaking Rhode 
Island from the British. To aid in this 
measure the militia of the adjoining 
states were called out, and the detach- 
ment of New Hampshire was placed 
under the the command of General Whip- 
ple. The scheme, owing to some acci- 
dent, or the neglect of a proper under- 
standing, proved unsucessful, and Gen- 
eral Sullivan was only able to save 



i^ 



his army by a judicious retreat. 

During this brief campaign, it is re- 
corded, that one morning [the 29ih of 
August, 1778], whilst a numoer of officers 
were at breakfast at the general's quar- 
ters, at the position on the north end of 
the island [on which Newport is situat- 
ed], the British advanced to an eminence 
about three quarters of a mile distant; 
perceiving horses and a guard before the 
door, they discharged a field piece, which 
killed one of the horses, and the ball, 
penetrating the side of the house, passed 
under the table where the officers were 
sitting, and shattered the leg of the 
brigade major of General Whipple's 
[brigade] in such a manner that amputa- 
tion was necessary." This officer was 
Major John Samuel Sherburne, of Ports- 
mouth, nephew of General Whiople's 
wife, and brother of Governor LangdonV, 
who was subsequently a member of Con- 
gress (^1793-1790). and judge of the 
United States Court for the district of 
New Hampshire. He was irreverently 
called "Cork-leg Sherburne" by the boys 
of long ago, and afterwards resided in 
the house on Court street next west of 
the Court house. 

"The design for which the militia were 
called out having thus proved abortive, 
many of them were discharged, and 
General Whipple with those under his 
command returned to New Hampshire. 
According to the pay-roll for the general 
and staff of his division of volunteers, it 
appears that he took the command on the 
2Gth of July, and returned on the 5th of 
September. 1778." 

"The high consideration in which 
his services were held by congress did 
not cease to accompany Mr. Whipple in 
his retirement. In the beginning of the 
year 1780 he was appointed a commission- 
er of the board of admiralty, which office 
he declined accepting, owing to the 
situation of his private affairs." 

"In the [same] year, 1780, immediately 
after his retirement from Congress, he 
was elected a member of the legislature, to 
which office he was repeatedly chosen 
[1780 to 1784] and continued to enjoy the 
confidence and approbation of his fellow- 
citizens," 

"In May, 1782, the superintendent of 
finance, confiding in 'his inclination and 
abilities to promote the interests of the 
United States,' appointed Mr. Whipple 
receiver for the state of New Hampshire, 
a commission at once arduous and un- 
popular. It was invariably the rule of 
Mr. [Robert] Morris to grant this ap- 
pointment only to men of tried integrity 
and invincible patriotism. The duty of 
the office was not only to receive and 
transmit the sums collected in the state, 



but to expedite that. coUc'tion by all 
proper means, and incessantly to urge 
ihe local authorities to comply with the 
requisitions of congress." This position 
he retained, at Mr. Morris' solicitation, 
and much against his own wishes, until Au- 
gust, 1784. 

In 1782 he was president of a court, 
organized by Congress, which met at 
Trenton, New Jersey, to determine the 
dispute, "between the states of Pennsyl- 
vania and Connecticut, relative to certain 
lands at Wyoming," which resulted in the 
unanimous decision of tbe court that Con- 
necticut had "no right to the lands in con- 
troversy." 

General Whipple resigned his military 
appointment June 20th, 1782, and his fail- 
ing health prevented him, after this time, 
"from engaging in the more active scenes 
of life." 

"On the [same day, the] twentieth of 
June, 1782, he was appointed a judge of 
the superior court of judicature" of New 
Hampshire, and "on the twenty-fifth 
of December, 1784, ... a justice of the 
peace and quorum throughout the state." 

General Whipple died in Portsmouth, 
"on the twenty-eighth day of November, 
1785, in the fifty-fifth year of his age," 
and "his body was deposited in the North 
burying ground in Portsmouth." 

William Whipple married his cousin, 
Catharine Moflatt, of Portsmouth, who 
oied in 1823, at the very advanced age of 
100 years. He left no descendants. It is 
said he had seven children, all of 
whom died in infancy, but his son "Wil- 
liam Whipple, died April 29th, 1773, aged 
1 year," whose stone stands near his own 
in the North cemetery, is the only one of 
whose birth or death we have positive 
evidence. 

How can I, in the time allotted to me, 
tell you of the many things in which the 
men and women of Whipple's blood have 
taken part from the first settlement of 
the Colonies until now ! 

It is impossible to do the subject jus- 
tice; and for information concerning his 
ancestors and family, I must refer you to 
the Appendix to "The Presentation of 
Flags to the Schools of Portsmouth, N. 
H., October 9 t,h, 1890, by Storer Post," 
where several letters written by General 
Whipple during the Revolution, and many 
details of his life will also be found. [See 
Addenda ] 

But now, I must at least pay my trib- 
ute, and acknowledge the indebtedness j 
of the Post for his sympathy and gener- 
ous aid in procuring this portrait to that 
eminent poet, essayist and statesman, 
James Russell Lowell, great grandson of 
General Whipple's sister, Mary (Whipple) 
Traill, whose recent death, 12th August, 



14 



1891, in Cambridge, Mass., the whole! 
English speaking world laments ; for he 
with all his father's family always had a 
strong interest in Portsmouth, and in the | 
Portsmouth stock from which they [ 
sprung. 

Scarcely a year has gone by since the 
day when Storer Popt presented the Flags 
to the Schools of Portsmouth, and yet | 
the comrades who spoke for the Post at i 
both the Whipple and Farragut schools 
have passed to a better world. Sincerely 
mourning their deaths, we know that the 
people of Portsmouth grieve with us for 
the good citizens and gallant men who 
have gone,— for the soldier (George E. 
Ilodgdon, Lieut. 10th N. H. Infantry, and 
Capt U. S. C. T.)— brave in war, and in 
peace the earnest student of the history 
of our city, our mayor, friend, and the 
protector of the poor and weak, whose 
nobility of heart won for him the proud 
titleof "counsel for the defence,"— for the 
sailor (Captain Arthur R. Yates, U. S. 
Navy) — brave in war, without peer in 
peace, our Naval Bayard, beloved by all 
who knew him. 

And now, before closing, may I, in 
behalf of my comrades of the Grand 
Army and of this meeting, express the 
hope that before long a marble tab'et may 
be placed on the front of Whipple .'^chool 
to tell every passer by its name and that 
Portsmouth here honors her Signer of the 
Declaration of Independence. Let us 
trust, also, that before many months a 
substantial wall, now much needed, may 
be erected between the land of the Bos- 
ton and Maine railroad and the south 
western part of the old North cemetery, 
where rests not only the ashes of William 
Whipple, but of many others whose 
names and fame are very dear to the 
people of Portsmouth. 

"Mr. Whipple was possessed of a 
strong mind, and quick discernment: he 
was easy in his manners, courteous in his 
deportment, correct in his habits, and 
constant in his friendships. He enjoyed 
larough life a great share of the public 
confidence, and although his early educa- 
tion was limited, his natural good sense, 
and accurate observations, enabled him to 
discharge the duties of the several offices 
with which he was intrusted, with credit 
to himself and benefit to the public. In 
the various scenes of life in which he en- 
gaged, he constantly manifested au honest 
and persevering spirit of emulation, which 
conducted him with rapid strides to dis- 
tinction. As a sailor, he speedily at- 
tained the highest rank in the profession ; 
a3 a merchant, he was circumspect and 
industrious; as a congressman, he was 
firm and fearless ; as a legislator, he was 
honest and able ; as a commander, he was 



cool and courageous; as a judge, he was 
dignified and impartial; and as a member 
of many subordinate public offices, he 
was alert and persevering. Few men 
rose more rapidly and worthily in the 
scale of society, or bore their new honors 
with more modesty and propriety." 

One hundred and fifteen years have 
passed since William Whipple pledged his 
life, his fortune, and his sacred honor, in 
behalf of our National liberty and free- 
dom ; but while love of country and the 
flag shall be cherished among us, let us 
trust that the teachers and pupils of 
the Whipple school will keep his memory 
green, and on each recurring Memorial 
Day and Fourth of July, will garland his 
grave with flowers, in perpetual memory 
of the fact that by his hand the people of 
Portsmouth signed, and through him 
claim their share, in the glory of the 
Declaration of Independence. 

At the conclusion of this address Com- 
mander Curtis then spoke as follows : 

I now call upon Comrade Joseph A. 
Smith, a gallant representative of the U. 
S. Navy, who generously gave the pro- 
ceeds of his brilliant lecture delivered in 
this hall one year ago, on the memorable 
fight between the U. S. S. Kearsarge and 
the Confederate cruiser Alabama, to- 
wards the expense of procuring these 
portraits, to address you on the life and 
career of that greatest naval hero of 
modern times, David Glasgow Farragut. 

Ladies and G- ntlemen, I have the pleas- 
ure of introducing to you Comrade Joseph 
A. Smith, Pay Inspector, U. S. Navv. 

Addreaa of Comrade Joseph A. Smith. 

Mr Chairman : 

Ladies and Gentlemen : — I know not by 
what chance it has happened that I have 
been requested to speak at ths p'esenta- 
tion of a portrait of Admiral Farragut to 
the City of Portsmouth, for one of her 
public schools, unless the explanation 
may be found in the fact that I con- 
tributed my humble share to the efforts of 
others in securing the painting. 

Id a letter to his son, a few days after 
the battle to which he refers, Farragut 
wrote: -'The victory of the Kearsarge 
over the Alabama raised me up. I would 
sooner have fought that fight than any 
ever fought on the ocean 

The triumph of the Kearsarpe was 

grand I go for Winslow's 

promotion." 

My part in the procurement of the 
portrait was the delivery of a public 
address on that battle. I was not then 
aware of Farragui's sentiments on that 
subject and it is therefore doubly grati- 



15 



fying to know that his enthusiastic words 
made that subject peculiarly appropriate 
for that occasion. 

But no words of mine can be made 
equally appropriate for this occasion ; nor 
can they compensate for the silence of 
one who as frienri, shipmate and aid to 
our great admiral, in the height of his 
fame, was fittingly selected to sound our 
hero's virtues as a man and his transcen- 
dent genius as a naval commander, 

Alas ! the lips of our genial comrade 
are sealed by death. 

At the flig presentation to our public 
schools Comrade Yates awoke our slum- 
bering patriotism by the fervor of a 
speech in which he pointed out the duty 
of the citizen to the state. 

Could he speak to us his felicitous 
phrases would glow wi h his love and 
admiration for his former commander, 
Farragut. 

For many reasons the loss of Captain 
Arthur Reid Yates touches the heart of 
every comrade and citizen who knew him, 
with the gloom of mourning. 

In his domestic relat ons, as a genial 
companion, an exemplary and patriotic 
citizen, as a faithful friend and as an 
efficient officer, our comrade may have 
patterned after our great Admiral. No 
better exemplar can be found among the 
great naval heroes of any age. 

It is because of Admiral Farragut's 
virtues as a man and his merits as an 
officer that Storer Post tenders his por- 
trait as an artistic symbol of those virtues 
and merits which should be emulated by 
the pupils of the public schools. 

Farragut's life was crowded with 
stirring episodes. Those of his early 
naval life conduced to the formation of a 
sterling, manly character. Born in 1801, 
he entered the navy as midshipman when 
a lad only nine years of age, and in 18U 
he sailed on the Essex, 32 gnns, with 
Sailing Master David Porter commanding. 

Shortly afterward war was declared by 
the United States against Great Britain, 
and the Essex began her hostile opera- 
tions by capturing a British brig with 150 
troops on board ; then, after a contest of 
only eight minutes, she captured the Eng- 
lish sloop of war Alert, 20 guns; next 
she captured the British government 
packet Nocton with $55,000. specie; 
then amid terrific storms and hyster- 
ical prayers, she weathered Cape Horn ; 
on the Pacific she captured a Peruvian 
guarda costa, of 15 guns, that was an 
ally of the British Navy ; following 
that came the recapture of a prize of the 
guarda costa, named the Barclay ; after 
that the Essex captured a British whaler, 
Montezuma, with 1400 barrels of sperm 
oil, and the British whalers Georgiana 



and Policy; the Essex equipped the 
Georgiana as a new cruiser and she in tnrn 
captured three other prizes from the 
enemy ; finally the Essex was captured by 
the British vessels, Pboebe, a frigate 
with 49 guns of diflferent calibres and 320 
men, and the Cherub, a sloop of war with 
28 gu s of diff"erent calibres and 180 men, 
after a sanguinary battle of two and one 
half hours. 

The prize Barclay alluded to was sent 
to Valparaiso, with young Farragat, then 
a boy of twelve years, as prize master, 
accompanied by the former captain of the 
Barclay as nautical advisor. The latter's 
reputation, as the possessor of an arbitra- 
ry will and a peppery temper, inspired 
his subordinates with genuine fear. 

When our youthful hero expressed a 
wish to haye the main top sail filled away, 
the hot-tempered old merchant ship mas- 
ter swore that he would shoot the first 
man who should dare to touch a rope 
without his orders and went below for 
his pistols. 

The boy prize master succeeded in hav- 
ing the main top sail filled away and 
notified the defiant old salt not to come 
on deck with his pistols unless he wanted 
to go overboard,— and thus the young 
commander successfully enforced his 
authority. 

After the capture of the Alert, the pris- 
oners of that ship, on the Essex, medi- 
tated a mutiny which young Farragut 
detected and reported to his commander 
who frustrated the plot by a clever strat- 
agem. 

Our boy hero, as prisoner, boarded the 
British frigate Pha;t)e in tears, but dis- 
covering that one of the English sailors 
bad appropriated his pet pig, the salty 
stream from Farragut's eyes evaporated 
in the heat of indignation, and, accepting 
a challenge to fight the British tar for the 
possession of the porky prize, the plucky 
little American thrashed his adversary 
and recovered the squealing Murphy, (for 
that was the pig's name,) in a fistic circle 
formed by the Phoebe's British crew. 

Farragut was sent to New York with 
the rest of the Essex's crew, on board the 
Essex Jr. 

I have briefiy rehearsed these inciden s, 
not because they are new, but because 
they form the Initiation of Farragut, be- 
fore the age of thirteen, into the unpar- 
alleled, eventful and brilliantly successful 
career in the American navy, that drew 
forth the applause of the civilized world. 

The romantic cruise of the Essex not 
only gave this young sailor experience in 
every phase of naval life, but it also 
opened to him broad vistas of his glorious 
future. 

Probably the experience ot no naval 



16 



commander in chief, living today, equals 
in variety and usefulness, that through 
•which Farragut passed before reaching 
the age of thirteen years. 

But it was the deeds of later life that 
made him famous. 

After returning to New York on the 
Essex jr he was assigned to the 74 line 
of battle ship Independence, with Bain- 
bridge; to the Washington under Chaun- 
cey ; to the Mosquito fleet, under Porter 
again, 1823—4; to the command of the 
schooner Ferret at the age of 22 years ; 
in 1825 he was assigned to the Brandy- 
wine which conveyed Lafayette home to 
France after his visit to the United 
States; then he was assigned to the 
Brazilian station as executive of the 
Delaware and afterwards to the command 
of the Boxer and the Decatur ; in 1838 he 
commanded the Erie at Vera Cruz; dur- 
ing the Mexican war 1847. he commanded 
the Saratoga; in 1854 he established the 
navy yard at Mare Island, California; in 
18G0 he commanded the Brooklyn In the 
Gulf of Mexico ; and later, when our 
Great Rebellion broke forth, he was liv- 
ing in his adopted home, Norfolk, Va. 

Amid the fluctuating opinions of the 
time there was no wavering doubt in Far- 
ragut's mind. With him it was not a 
choice of states or of flags. He followed 
the line of duty, and the flag that he 
had sworn to support, the fl^g for which 
he fought in his cherub days. 

Severing the social ties that bound him 
to Norfolk, he moved with his family to 
Hastings on the Hudson in New York, 
and in 1862 the government assigned 
him to the command of the West Gulf 
Squadron. It was in tils capacity that 
his splendid powers shone forth, and con 
firmed the evidence of high qualities as 
a naval commander that might have been 
observed by an examination of his pi*e- 
vious conduct. 

His passage by Forts Jackson and St. 
Philip, in 1862, with his fleet of wooden 
ships, and the capture of New Orleans; 
his passage by the batteries of Vicksburg 
in the same year; the capture of Galves- 
ton and Sabine City ; his passage by Port 
Hudson in 1863; the siege of Vicksburg; 
the siege of Port Hudson ; his passage 
by Fori 8 Morgan and Gaines at the en- 
trance to Mobile Bay, 1864, are among 
the notable events of the rebellion. 

His commission as Rear Admiral was 
accompanied by the thanks of Congress 
to himself and the ofiicers and men of 
his squadron for the gallantry displayed 
in passing Forts Jackson and St. Phillip. 

Subsequently, with the view of con 
ferring on him still higher honors, the 
grade of vice admiral was created on the 
20th of December 1864, and on the follow- 



ing day the president named Farragut for 
the office and the nomination was imme- 
diately confirmed by the senate- 

A f-hort period of profound peace had 
enabled the people to more justly estimate 
the services rendered to his country by 
our first vice admiral, and congress, on 
the 25th of July, 1866, cr.'ated the grade 
of admiral, and, for the first time in our 
country bestowed that rank on our al- 
ready honored nav^sl captain. 

Some of us remember how the brilliant 
naval exploits of Farragut fairly startled 
our waiting people into paroxysms of ap- 
plause and the general demand that was 
made upon the government for the exalted 
honors it bestowed. 

I cannot undertake to rehearse them at 
length, but they have placed Farragut at 
the very top of the ladder of fame as a 
naval fighter. 

No better estimate can be formed of 
public sentiment toward Farragut at the 
time of these exploits, than by citing the 
opinion of his contemporary, General 
Butler, of the volunteer army, who wrote 
in a note of congratulations on the battle 
of Mobile : "I need not use the language 
of compliment where none is needed. It 
is all said in one word : It was like you. 
Reminding me so much of the passage 
of the Mississippi forts, was it wonderful 
that, boy-like, in my tent all alone, when 
the rebel journal was brought in and the 
official telegram read that you and seven- 
teen of your vessels had passed Fort Mor- 
gan, I called out, — 'Three cheers for 
Farragut.' They were given with a will 
that brought in my staff" and orderlies, 
who thought their general had gone crazy, 
perhaps from a sun stroke, whereas it was 
only a stroke of good luck, of high daring 
and noble enterprise, quite as brilliant as 
anything the sun could do. Let me assure 
you, Admiral, that those cheers, the first 
given on the occasion in the loyal north, 
are not done ringing yet; but every hill- 
top is resounding with them, as they are 
caught up frono hamlet to hamlet, and 
city to city, of a grateful nation. I speak 
no language of hyperbole, and only the 
words of sincere admiration, when I say I 
envy you, alone of all men, for the place 
you have in the hearts of your country- 
men." 

Farragut has sometimes been called the 
American Nelson, in consequence of the 
brilliancy of his achievements, but, ex- 
cept in the respect that both were skillful 
seamen and naval commanders of great 
courage, and fertility of resource, the 
resemblance ends. 

A man may possess fighting qualities 
without possessing the elements of true 
heroism. It may be well for our young 
friends to know that the highest heroism 



17 



partakes of something better and nobler 
than the mere violence of battle for con- 
quest, for the so-called honor of kings, 
for the applause of senseless multitudes, 
for the acquirement of titles and rank, or 
for the gain of gold. 

The cruel gladiator that fights to kill ; 
the brutal pugilist that Hghts to beat his 
adversary into insensibility; the savage 
Indian that fights for scalps ; the lawless 
pirate that fights for plunder, all possess 
the courage to fight yet they are not he- 
roes. 

True heroism partakes of all the virtues 
that impel men to deeds of self sacrifice 
to benefit their fellowmen, and the 
greater the virtues of such men the 
greater and truer is their hnroism. 

Courage, added to these, perfects the 
hero. Heroism may be clothed in the 
vestments of the priest, or wrapped in 
the robes of a sister of mercy, or covered 
by the jacket of a schoolboy, 

Luther, the preacher , believed in per- 
sonal devils, but he was not afraid of 
them — he defied them. Carlisle tells us 
that Luther, when translating one of his 
psalms, when worn with sickness and 
fasting, there rose before him a dreadful 
image that te took for the evil one to 
forbid his work; Luther started up with 
fiend defiance, flung bis inkstand at the 
spectre and it disappeared. 

"The devil is aware," he writes, "that 
this does not proceed out of fear in me. 
I have seen and defied numerous dtvils. 
Duke George of Liepzig, a violent enemy 
of Luthers, is not equal to one devil. If 
I had business in Liepzig I would ride 
into Liepzig though it lained Duke 
Georges for nine days running." 

And Carlisle adds, "what a reservoir of 
dukes to run into." 

This was high heroism, because Luther 
braved not only visible, but invisible evil, 
and he believed that he braved the 
veritable devil ia the sacred cause of 
saving his fellowmen from eternal associa- 
tion with that cloven-footed tempter. 

What atypical young hero Mrs. Hemans 
depicts in Casablanca, the boy sailor, 
who, charged b? his father not to leave 
his post in battle stood steadfast amid 
the terro's of his burning ship that was 
blown to atoms by the explosion of the 
powder magazine. And "the noblest 
thing that perished there was that young, 
faithful heart". 

It has been shown that Farragut as a 
boy on the Essex displayed the same 
heroic qualities that shone so resplendent- 
ly in his maturer years. 

It was the moral strength of the boy's 
nature that supported him when prisoner 
of war, and weeping, he stepped into a 
fing of Englisl) sajlors on the deplj of the 



PhcEbe and triumphantly fought against 
odds for his darling pig. 

That was heroism because he was im- 
pelled by the spirit that braved every- 
thing in defence of his conception of 
right, regardless of consequences. 

We learn also, from his instructor, 
that in his youth he had a "manly way of 
thinking." 

When the rebellion was threatened and 
an acquaintance warned him that he 
"could not live in Norfolk", he replied, — 
"well then I can live somewhere else." 

To his wife he said : "I shall stick to 
the flig. This act of mine may cause 
years of separation from your family; so 
you must decide quickly whether you will 
go north or remain here." The decision 
was made and he moved with his family 
to Hastings on the Hudson. This resolve 
was true heroism. 

At this time he was sixty years of age 
and had already attained the highest rank 
of our naval service. This action was 
a sacrifice. 

Amid the strongest inducements, that 
his southern friends could ofler him, to 
renounce his allegiance to his government 
he followed the dictates of conscience and 
adopted as his guide and motto Loyalty 
and Duty to his country and to his God. 

He wrote : "God alone decides the con- 
test. He who dies doing his duty to his 
country, and at peace with his God has 
played out the drama of life to the best 
advantage." "I trust in Him as a merci- 
ful being ; but really in war it seems as 
if we ought hardly to expect mercy when 
men are destroying one another upon 
questions of which He alone is jndge. 
Motive seems to constitute right and 
wrong. ' After his victory at New 
Orleans he wrote : "My dearest wife and 
boy : I am so agitated that I can scarcely 
write, and shall only tell you that it has 
pleased Almighty God to preserve my 
life through a fire such as the world has 
scarcely known." 

Later he wrote: "Senator McDougal, I 
hear, has asked for a vote of thanks for 
me. Blessed is he who expecteth nothing , 
for he shall not be disappointed. I regret 
that Bailey did not get the thanks of 
congress." 

In these lines to his wife and son is 
something pathetic: "In the course of 
human longevity I have not long to live, 
and, although it would be most agreeable 
to spend it with you both it is our place 
to submit to His will and do our duty." 

When in front of Vicksburg he wrote :"I 
trust that God will smile on our efibrts as 
He has done before. I think more should 
have been left to my discretion ; but I 
hope for the best, and pray God to pro- 
tect our poor sailors from harm." 



18 



At New Orleans he wrote : "Don't give 
yourself any uneasiness about any one's 

trying to undermine me I fortify 

myself as well as I can and trust to my 
honesty for the rest." 

How our sympathy reaches backward 
to this grand, uncomplaining man as we 
read the foUowine from a letter to his 
wife, in a boy's handwriting; "Father's 
eyes have given out; so I will finish this 
letter. He has been much worried at 
these things, (referring to certain naval 
disasters,) but still tries to bear it like a 
philosopher. He knows he has done all 
in his power to. avert it, with the vessels 
at his disposal. If the government had 
only let him take Mobile when he wished 
to, the Oreto would never have run out." 
After passing Port Hudson he wrote; 
"Would to God that I only knew that 
our friends on the other ships were well 
as we are. . . . You know my creed : I 
never send others in advance when there 
is a doubt, and being one on whom the 
country has bestowed its greatest honors 
I thought I ought to take the riik which 
belongs to them." 

In a letter home from the Red river he 
wrote : "You say you think i am getting 
too ambitious. You do me great injustice. 
• ... I am much more apt to lose than 
to win honors by what I do. God knows 
that there is not a more humble individual 
than myself. I shall go to church to- 
morrow, and try to return suitable 
thanks for the many blessings that have 
been bestowed upon me." 

Before Mobile he wrote: "My dearest 
wife : I write and leave this letter for 
you. I am going into Mobile Bay in the 
morning, if God is my leader, as I hope 
He is, and in Him I place my trust. If 
He thinks it is the proper place for me to 
die, I am ready to submit to His will, in 
that as in all other things." 

At the attack on Mobile Farragut's 
leading ship began to back, obstructing 
his line and silencing the batteries of the 
Union ships while the whole of Mobile 
Point was a living flame. 

Farragut hailed the backing ship with 
"What's the trouble?" "Torpedoes" was 
the reply. 

Like an electric flash Farragut cried, 
"Blow the torpedoes ! Four Bells ! Captain 
Drayton, go ahead ! Jouett, full speed !" 
andjtheJHartford pushed forward to the 
head of the line, thus averting failure 
and defeat and leading on to victory. 

The Confederate ram Tennessee was 
deemed impregnable. She was shot at, 
rammed and hammered by the Brooklyn, 
the Lackawanna, the Monongahela, the 
Kennebec and the Oneida without eflect 
and then she retired under the guns of 
Fort Morgan. 



When Farragut had passed the fort, the 
ram again left her anchorage and steered 
directly for the flag ship. The Hartford 
did not wait for the attack but took the 
aggressive and following the Lackawanna, 
struck the Tennessee a fearful blow and 
delivered a broadside of shot without ap- 
parent eflect on the monster ram. 

In the mean time the Chickasaw, the 
Winnebago and Manhattan hammered her 
with heavy shot until, at last, her steering 
apparatus, smokestack and port shutters 
were shot away, her commander was 
wounded and in this condition showed the 
white flag and surrendered. Farragut 
mourned over the loss of his brave 
men. 

When the impregnability of the ram is 
considered, together with the fatal danger 
of submerged torpedoes that obstructed 
available passages; and the powerful 
batteries of the forts that bore upon the 
Union Fleet, there is good reason to 
believe that this victory was won against 
odds equal to any that Nelson overcame, 
even at Aboukir, which is called his 
masterpiece, or at Trafalgar on the 
Victory, when he received his mortal 
wound. 

How unconsciously Farragut reveals 
his reverent and modest nature when he 
writes of this unparalleled victory : — "The 
Almighty has smiled on me once more." 

Again he wrote home :— ' As I told you 
on the flfth, it pleased God to grant me 
one of the hardest earned victories of my 

life over the rebel ram Tennessee 

God bless you and make you thankful for 
this victory as I am." 

As a Naval fighter Farragut's prowess 
was most conspicuously displayed, as 
Nelson's was. agaiost seemingly over- 
whelming odds, and in the most critical 
moments of battle. 

This power to act promptly and efiect- 
ively in acrisia is pointed out by Rear 
Admiral Hamilton of the British Navy in 
his observations on the action of Mobile : 
"It appears to me that a disastrous de- 
feat was converted into victory by (in so 
unexpected a contingency,) the quickness 
of eye and power of rapid decision Far- 
ragut possessed, which saw at a glance 
the only escape from the dilemma the 
fleet were placed in, and which can only 
be acquired by a thorough practical 
knowledge in the management of fleets, 
and for want of which no amount of 
theoretical knowledge, however desirable 
in many respects, can make up in the 
moment of difficulty." 

Invaluable as experience was to Farra- 
gut, it was the motive force of faith in 
God and the faculty to do his work, that 
enabled him to utilize his experience and 
made him @o formidable in war. 



19 



Compare him with our modern Sir 
Joseph Porters, the men who acquire 
vheir nautical skill by sticlsing fast to 
their deslis, aud when the breezes blow, 
generally go below ; such merely ambitious 
men who travesty every age and beg to 
acTorn themselves with the titles and 
trappings of rank while they amuse 
the thoughtless with punch and judy 
antics. 

This type of man has been described by 
a great authority on heroes, as one who 
struggles to "force everybody, as it were 
begging everybody for God's sake to 
acknowledge him a great man, and set 
him over the heads of men ! Such a 
creature is among the wretchedest sights 
seen under the sun. A great man ! 
A poor, morbid, prurient, empty man ! 
Fitter for the ward of a hospital than for 
a throne among men ! 

How such mean, tyrannical, selfish men 
pale into insignificance before the blazing 
whiteness of Farragut's character ! 

He did not bid for applause. He did 
not beg to be set on a pedestal because he 
paraded in a cocked hat. His heart and 
mind were absorbed in unselfish thoughts 
aflecting the welfare of his country. He 
was content with the operations of his 
own genius in obedience to the dictates 
of conscience. His self-denial, his single- 
ness of purpose in the accomplishments 
of his great achievements, raise him to 
the level of the grand, masterful heroes 
of history. 

For unrivalled nautical skill: daring 
enterprises ; fearless, intrepid action ; in- 
exhaustible fertility of resources in battle, 
Farragut and Nelson bear comparison. 

In reverence, serenity, pacience, hu- 
manity, prudence, sagacity, fidelity; in 
the intricacies of diplomacy and the ele- 
ments of statesmanship, Farragut's supe- 
riority to Nelson mast be conceded. 

As we read his letters we can imagine 
that, had Farragut been a priest and stood 
in Luther's place when the Devil intruded 
his revolting person to interfere with his 
work, Farragut, like Luther, would have 
llung his inkstand at His Satanic Majesty 
in full faith that the missile would have 
been guided by an overruling Power 
straight to some vital spot, as the smooth 
pebble of David went to the brain of the 
Philistine of Gath. 

So, had Farragut stood as a boy beside 
Casablanca, he would have perished at his 
post with the same fidelity that distin- 
guished him on the Essex. 

Like Cromwell he entered into battle 
with sublime trust in an overruling Prov- 
idence and with a calm but indomitable 
resolution that carried him forward tri 



Farragut cheered his men in war with 
words of pious but sanguine exhortation. 

Nelson led his desperate crew, in per- 
son, to the battle that made him an 
Admiral, with the cry. "Westminster 
Abbey or Victory !" 

Farragut's words suggest the spirit of 
a Christian knight. 

Nelson's cry suggests the spirit of a 
buccaneer. 

As a Christian knight Farragut died 
here in your own city after he had heard 
the thanks and praises of his countrymen 
and the kings, emperors and princes of 
the Old World had done honor to his 
virtues and those achievements that shed 
so much lustre on his country's flag. 

But though I had tbe talent of a Bos- 
well to embalm the glory of Farragut in 
literature I must not detain you. 

Who shall do justice to the memory of 
our rugged sea-king ? Who can paint 
his virtues ? 

"To guard a title that was rich betoie, 
To gild refined erold, to paint the Jily, 
To throw a perfume on thu violet, 
To smooth the ice, or add another hue 
Unto I he rainbow,. 
Is wastelul and ridiculous excess." 

As we turn from the portrait of Far- 
ragut our thoughts will revert not to the 
blue and gold that adorned his form , but 
to the man within, to the spirit of 
good and patriotism that was his crown- 
ing glory. We love the man for what he 
was. 

"For others shape the marble loim, 

The molten image cast; 
But paint him in the battle storm, 

Lashed to Ms flag-ship's mast. 

Now then your broadsides shipmates all, 
With grape well loaded down ! 

May garlands tilled with sunshine fall 
To gird his silvered crown ! 

I give the name that lits him best- 
Ay, better than his own— 

The sea-king ol the sovereiga west 
Who made his mast a throne." 

Immediately after the conclusion of 
Comrade Smith's address. Commander 
Curtis again arose and in behalf of Storer 
Post made the following 

Address of Presentation. 

Ladies and Gentlemen : The three 
cardinal principles of the organization 
known as the Grand Army of the Republic 
are Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty. 

To preserve the memories of a war 
which has settled for all time the per- 
manency of the union of states and the 
supremacy of national government; to 
renew the fraternities of a comradeship 



umphantly and resistlessly over the most cemented in camp, bivouac and battle; to 
formidable obstacles. relieve the necessities of distressed sold- 



•2u 



iers and sailors and the widows and 
orphans of those who yielded up their 
lives on the altar of their country ; to 
obey the laws of the land ; to inculcate 
lessons of loyalty and patriotism in the 
generations to come after us, that equal 
rights and national unity shall forever be 
maintained, are the objects of our associ- 
ation. 

The crowning principle is Loyalty. 

It is for this that on each recurring 
springtime the survivors of that once vast 
army, in every village and hamlet of our 
country, strew the graves of the patriot 
dead with the choicest of earth's flowers ; 
for this, above their countless mounds, in 
sunshine and storm, is kept waving the 
starry emblem of the nation, rescued and 
restored by loyalty ; for tnis, on hillside 
and plain, throughout the length and 
breadth of our fair land, rise memorials 
in bronze, granite and marble, object 
lessons of loyalty for all commg time. 

Gentlemen :— It is lor the perpetuation 
of this principle that Storer I'ost has 
presented to every school building in our 
city, the beautiful flag of our country, 
with the hope that the daily sight of its 
star-emblazoned folds may incite in the 
youthful beholder, patriotic ardor, a 
desire to learn the story of the sacrifice of 
life, limb, and treasure to preserve It, 
and a devotion to maintain the principles 
for which it stands. And if you will 
pardon me, it is for this that Storer Post 
has long hoped and still hopes, that the 
collection of valuable war pictures and 
portraits which adorn the walls of Grand 
Army hall, and the many historic relics 
being constantly gathered by our organ- 
ization, and of which this grand old city 
is so rich in store, may some day, while 
we are yet on this side of the eternal 
camping ground, be gathered into a me- 
morial hall where forever they shall tell 
the story of our country's rise and pro- 
gress more eloquently than tongue or pen. 

For this, Gentlemen of the City Govern- 
ment, we memorialized your predecessors 
to designate the new school structures 
by the names of those illustrious patriots 
of different eras, of whose distinguished 
lives Comrades Foster and Smith have so 
eloquently spoken. 

That our petition was speedily, heartily, 
and unanimously granted is a matter of 
glorious record, of pride to our citizens 
and extreme gratification to Storer Post; 
and to show the appreciation of my com- 
rades, I will call upon Comrade Charles 
H. Besselievre, Adjutant of the Post, to 
read extracts from the records of the 
meetings of Oct. 1, 15, and Nov. 19, 1890. 

I have the pleasure of introducing to 
you Comrade Charles H. Besselievre, Ad- 
jutant of Storer Post. 



Adjutant Bessellevre's Remarkst 

Adjutant Besselievre, then stepped 
forward and read the ofticial extracts of 
the Post concerning the portraits, as fol- 
lows : 

"At a regular meeting of Storer Post, 
held on the evening of Oct. 1, 1890, the 
following resolutions, oflered by Comrade 
Joseph Foster, wore unanimously adopt- 
ed: 

JiKSOLVED. That storer Post. No. 1, Dewart- 
ineni of New Hanipslnre, Grand Army of the 
Republic, graifflully ncknowleilKfi^ the cour- 
tCfy of tlie Hoard of Mayor and Aldermen of 
tne Oily of rortsiuoiilh in adopting; the names 
of our Poitsmouib signer of the Declaration 
of Indepen'ience, and of America's great Ad- 
miral, tor tlie two new school bouses, as sug- 
ffested by the Post; and congratulates the 
IJoard upon the general satisfaction and ap- 
pioval with which these names, so closely 
conn(!Cte(l with the history of our country 
and so full of lessons of manly heroism and 
l)alr)olic devotion, have teen received by our 
citizens. 

Uesolved. That a copy of the foregoing 
resolution be ollicially forwarded to the Board 
of Mayor and Aldernjen, and a copy be fur- 
nished the city press. 

On Oct. 15, 1890, it was voted that the 
Post present oil portraits of General 
William "Whipple and Admiral David G. 
Farragut to the schools bearing their 
names. 

On Nov. 19, 1890, the following resolu- 
tion of Comrade Joseph Foiter was unan- 
imously adopted. 

Resolvkd. Tiiat the Committee on Enter- 
tainment be instructed to arrange with the 
celebrated portrait painter Mr U. D. Tenney 
ot Concord, N. I( , to paint suitable oil por- 
traits ot Gen. William Whipple and Admiral 
David G. Farragut for the Post, to have the 
paintings properly framed and suitably 
marko 1 witli name and by whom presented, 
and date, on a separate tablet or otherwise; 
and when they are completed to arrange for 
their public presentation by the Post, through 
Its commander, to the City of Portsmouth; to 
be hung in the room occupied by the senior 
class at the Whipple and Farragut schools 
respectively, as long as the school houses 
shall bland." 

Commander Curtis resumed his address, 
as follov.'s : 

PreBentation Address Continaedi 

The foremost portrait artist of New 
England U. D. Tenney painted them 
and is proud of his work. No expenditure 
of time, money or skill has been spared 
to make them the best obtainable. Mr. 
Tenney could tell you of visits to New 
York at the expense of the Post to 
examine the celebrated portraits of Ad- 
miral Farragut in the rooms of the Union 
League, University Club, and that in the 
possession of the family of Loyal Farra- 
gut, son of the Admiral, all of which 
were unsatisfactory, and how, dnally, a 



2i 



small portrait in the possession of the 
i^overnment, from which was engraven 
tne vignette on the new $100. treasury 
note was found, and judged to t)e tae 
best likeness, by those most familiar with 
the Admiral in his later years, in existence. 
From this picture the artist obtain- 
ed the foundation for the splendid portrait 
before you. 

The color of hair, eyes, clothing and 
tinting of flesh are pronounced ab'4oiutely 
perfect, by those best qualified to judge. 

The portrait of Geueral Whipple is 
from that in the possession Mf Alexander 
H. Ladd, Esq , of this city, by Mr. Tcn- 
ney, from the original painting by 
Trumbull, of the signers of the Declara- 
tion of Independence, in the i)OS8es8ion 
of Yale College, and is considered by 
connoiseurs a masterpiece in portrait 
piintin<;. 

Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen :— My com- 
rades seeh not honor, glory, popular 
praise or favor in this undertaking. 
The exuberance and enthusiasm of youth 
have not prompted their action. It is 
rather from the calm judgment of men 
who have seen their country r«;Qt and 
torn and nearly dismembered by treason ; 
who marched into the jaws of death to 
preserve the heritage transmitted by their 
fathers, and who know the value of the 
fruits of that great struggle, and would 
seek to bestow them as losacies on their 
children and their children's children. 
Men die and their deeds are forgotten ; 
but principles live forever. If from 
this night's action the youth of Ports- 
mouth are incited to a greater degree of 
loyalty to country and a firmer fidelity to 
the duties of citizenshii), we shall have 
found ample reward. 

And now, Mr. Mayor, in the name of 
my comrades of the Grand Army of the 
Republic, representing as they do the 
soldiers and sailors of this city who de- 
fended the authority and integrity of the 
Nation, I present through you, to the 
City of Tortsmonth, for the school build- 
ings bearing their names, these portraits 
of General William Whipple and Admiral 
David Glasgow Farragut. 

Chairman Berry then arose and in these 
brief words made 

Jntrodaotion of the Mayor. 

Ladies and Gentlemen :— It now be- 
comes my duty to call upon His Honor 
the Mayor to accept in behalf of the City, 
at the hands of Storer Post, and to pre- 
sent to the Board of Instruction, these 
two beautiful gifts which have been eo 
eloquently bestowed upon us this evening. 



It now gives me much pleasure to intro- 
duce John J. Laskey, Mayor of Ports- 
mouth. 

The Bf ayor'a Responve. 

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, 
Commander Curtis, oflicers and com- 
rades : 

These portraits, tho gift of Storer 
Post, for whicli we thank you, I accept in 
behalf of the city to be placed In the 
school buildings bearing their honored 
names. 

General Whipple, soldiers know, how 
he led the army to victory ; history tells 
us so. 

Admiral Farragut, sailors know, how 
he led his lleet to victory wherever boats 
could go. No braver man on land or sea 
can any nation show. 

Gentlemen of the Board of Instruction, 
by request of Storer Post their gift now 
the property of the city I leave with 
you. 

The brevity of His Honor's address was 
persooified terseness, and happilv ex- 
pressed the sentiment of the community 
in receiving such elegaat tributes to 
patriotism and heroism. 

His presentation in turn to the district 
committees of the Board of instruction 
was equally brief and felicitous, and gen- 
erously recognized by the audience. 

Acceptance by the School*. 

llev. Henry E. Hovey was then intro- 
duced, and in behalf of the Whipple 
school received the portrait which Is 
to occupy a commandine position therein. 
His remarks were as follows : 

Your Honor the Mayor, (Jentleraen of 
the City Government, Children, Gentle- 
men of Storer Post, Ladies and Gen- 
tlemen : It is the very agreeable duty 
placed upon me by the chairman and 
members of the committee in charge, to 
speak in behalf of the IJjard of Instruc- 
tion and accept, in their name, for the 
Whipple school, this splendid portrait of 
the great and good man for whom the 
school is named. 

The hour is late and I have observed 
that the "sandman" is beginning to 
sprinkle a little of his sand in some of 
these bright eyes here before me, and 
moreover so much has been said and so 
well said that I am sure it will 
sulllce if I should simply add that these 
children will not and cannot forget this 
inspiring occasion, and that this portrait 
hanging upon the walls of their school 
will be, for generations to come, some- 
thing to cheer them up to duty, to exhibit 



22 



to them daily an illustrious example of 
all that is good and noble, as we have 
heard from the eloquent words of Pay- 
master Foster, to quicken them in pa- 
triotism, and to lire their hearts with 
barning zeal and atlection for their dear 
native land. God grant it so. Amen. 

Then A. P. Wendell on receiving the 
portrait for the Farragut school spoke as 
follows : 

Mayor Laskey : 

Sir :— In receiving from you this valua- 
ble portrait of the great hero Farragut 
which has been presented to the city by 
Storer Post, I feel a deep interest and 
responsibility as representative of the 
Board of Instruction and the district in 
which this painting is to be located and 
I promise that the same shall be carefully 
placed upon the walls of our building 
where it can be seen by the teacliers, 
scholars and all who enter our scjiool, a 
constant reminder of the noble patriot 



whose life and work have been so faith- 
ful y and ably treated by Pay Inspector 
Smith this evening. On account of the 
lateness of the hour allow me in a few 
words to thank you very heartily for 
this elegant gift, which yon have en- 
entrusted to our keeping. 

This closed the delightful exercises of 
the evening. 

Flaale. 

All honor and glory to the pioneer Post, 
G. A. R. , of New Hampshire for its noble 
and successful efforts in securing for the 
two new school houses these elegant 
portraits. The old comrades have indeed 
been blest with enduring tires of 
patriotism. These latest efforts of their 
zeal in a noble, because educating cause, 
and finding happy consummation in last 
night's double bestowal, is a triumph of 
which they may well feel proud. 

(Times, ''1 ami 23 November, 1891.) 



24 



TlirllliDg Story ol the War of 
the Rebellion, 



How the Kearsarge Shipped tlie 
Alabama. 



A Gala Night for Storer Post, 
G. A. R. 



The stage at Music hall last evening 
presented a picture of rare iiistorical 
interest to one conversant with the 
stirring events of the civil war of a 
((uarter century ago, and which would be 
hard to duplicate. The large gathering in 
the ball had assembled to enjoy the liberal 
programme provided by Scorer Post, in 
an entertainment whose proceeds are to 
be applied to the purchase of portraits of 
Admiral Farragut and Gen. William 
Whipple for the schools bearing those 
names. The object commended itself so 
thoroughly to everybody that a represen- 
tative Portsmouth audience nearly filled 
the house, parqaette and gallery. 

On the stage right, supported upon an 
easel was the historic picture of Farragut 
in the shrouds at Mobile bay, faulty in 
one detail, the conventional naval frock 
coat being displayed instead of the flannel 
bkuse which he wore when Capt. Dray- 
ton sent Watson up to pass a line around 
the old hero as a safe guard. On ihe left 
was shown an oil painting representing 
the memorable action betw« en the Kear 
sarge [built at the Portsmouth navy yard 
in 18G1] and the Alabama ofl' CherTjourg 
on that glorious Sunday morning [19 
June, 1864] so many years ago. These 
were accessories to the central picture yet 
to come; but before which was given a 
pleasant entertainment, prepared by th« 
Past comntittee, as the skilled cuisinier 
prefaces the greater work of his hands by 
appetising approaches. 

An overture, or rather a pot pourri of 
Natiocal airs by LaBrie's orchestra gave 
the keynote, followed by a four part spn^', 
tftectively given by a chorus of lads and 
lassits from the Whipple and Farragut 
schoo's, directed by George D. Whittier, 
their teacher. Miss Ethel Green gave a 
spirited recitation, "Independence 
Bell," with such etf- ct that a re- 
call was insisted upon, to which she 
responded with "Sheridan's Ride," earn- 
ing another reward from the house. 



The same happy fate awaited the \ 
Mozart Club, which came back at the 
persistent deonand of the audience, to 
repeat the last verse of Hartel's song "I 
think of Thee." Mr. George M. Ayers' 
cornet solo, "Silver Stream Polka." found 
ready appreciation, and he, too, was 
forced to return, but only to give the 
finale of the Polka in response. 

The curtain rose upon the second and 
pr'ncipal feature of the evening, as the 
actors in the great war drama, about to be 
depicted, filed in and took their seats. 
Between Capt. and Commandant C. C. 
Carpenter, U. S. N. , veteran of the great 
rebellion, and Capt. Arthur R. Yates, U. 
S. N., one of the heroes of Mobile Bay 
with the imraorial Farragut, sat the lec- 
turer. Pay Inspector Joseph A. Smith, U. 
S N., Paymaster of the Kearsarge. Be- 
hind and near these gentlemen sat the fol- 
lowing named survivors of the great 
naval battle, who draok-in their comrade's 
words and lived over again that never-to- 
be-forgotten dav ; Wiliam Y. Evans, Ly- 
man H. Hartfo'rd, Martin Hoyt, True W. 
Priest, Thomas Salmon, John W. Ynung 
[all of Portsmouth, and] Lyman P. Spin- 
ney [of Kittery]. 

Capt. Carpenter in well chosen words 
introduced his fellow officer, which 
service Pay Inspector Smith repaid by a 
preliminary statement that the com- 
mandant had been acting as his under- 
study with a view to lecturing in his, the 
paymaster's default. 

The lecturer read from his notes, which 
he remarked, in explanation, had been 
abbreviated somewhat from the original. 
His matter was rich in phrase and expres- 
sion, his delivery finished, graceful and 
eloquent. 

The writer failed to catch any mention 
of Captain James S. Thornton's naujc 
[who as Lieuten ant Commander was execu • 
live officer of the Kearsarge at the time 
of the fight. Captain John A Winslow. 
being in command.] although a position 
under the gallery may have been the 
cause. Thornton was a household word 
in Portsmouth, and his ratmoryhereis 
ever green. An idea of the regard in 
which he is held might have been 
gathered from the storm of hands and 
feet at the mention of the name of the 
lamented and heroic Commodore Charles 
W. Pickering [of Portsmouth, first captain 
of the Fear sarge.] 

The lecturer was frequently applauded 
and he was accorded the most perfect at- 
tention. The address fulfilled the highest 
expectations of the audience and earned 
for the speaker an added laurel well de- 
served and freely bestowed. In closing 
his allusion to a promioent figure Iq his 



AD DEN DA 



RELATING To 



The Whipple and Farragut Portraits, 

GENERAL WHIPPLE'S ANCESTORS anl JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. 



William Whipplk, of Portsmoiiih, \. 11. 
Signer of the Declaration of IndeiKMidonoo. 

Born 17.!0 - Died ITS."). 
Presented by .Storer Post, No. 1, G. A. U.— IPOl. 

(Tablet.) 

David Glasgow FARR.\GLr, 

Admiral, U. S. Navj'. 

Died at Portsmoutb, N. IT., Aug. 14, 187(i, .K fij). 

Presented by Storer Post, No.l, G. A. R.— 1891. 

(Tablet.) 



STORER POST. 

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen of 
the City of Portsmouth, N. H., having 
adopted in Seote-nber. 1890, the names of 
General William "Whipple and Admiral 
David Glasgow Farragut for the tvpo new 
school houses, in compliance with the 
suggestions of Storer r.)St, as fully relat- 
ed In the Appendix to "The Presentation 
of Flags to the Schools of P.m&niouth, N 
H, October 9, 1890. by Storer Post," 
Portsmouth, 1890; at a regular meeting 
of the Post held October 15, 1890, it was 
voted that in acknowledgment of this 
courtesy the Post present oil portraits of 
General Whipple and Admiral Farragut to 
the City for the schools bearing their 
names. 

The Entertainment. 

It was decided to give an entertainment 
to defray the cost of the portrait", and 
the matter was placed in the hands of a 
c >mmittee, consisting of Thomas Kennedy, 
chairman ; Joseph Foster, secretary ; Mar- 
cus M Collis, treasurer; and Meshach H. 
Bell. William Critchley, Joseph R Curtis. 
Charles N. Osgood, Henry S Paul and 
Jefferson C Tilton, members; who on the 
evening of November 18, 1890. gave the 
follow ing entertainment. 



G. 1 1 



— lOK THE— 



Whipple and Farragut Scbools* 
Portrait Fund, 

.A^T 3VEXJSIC KC-A-Xilj, 

TUESDAY, 18th NOVEMBER, 1890. 

Part 1. 

1. Overture, National Airs 

LaBkie'.*; Full Orchestra. 

2. Song, "Songs should Breathe" 

Selected choir of twenty voices from the 
.scholars of the AVhipple and Farragut 
schools, under the direction of Professor 
George D. Whittier. 

.'i. Recitation, "Independence Bell" 

Miss j:thel Greek. 
4. Song, Selected 

Mozart Glee Club. 
.'). Cornet Solo, "Silver Stream Polka," 

Rollinson 

(iEORGE M. .\VERi«. 

Part 2. 

1. Introduction of the Lecturer, by Captain 

Charles C. Carpenter, U. S. Navy, Presi- 
d(-nt of the evening. 

2. Lecture on the Cruise of the Kearsarge and 

her Fight with the Alabama, by Pay In- 
spector Joseph A. Smith, U. S. Xavy. 
then paymaster of the Kearsarge. 

Part 3. 

1. 0\crture, "Light Cavalry," Suppc 

LaBrie's Full Orchestra. 

•2. Song, "Fneedom" 

Scholars of WTiipple and Farragut Schools. 

3. Recitation, "Ballad of Xew Orleans," 

Boker 
Miss Alice M. Sides. 

4. Song, selected 

Mozart Glee Club. 

Tickets of admission, 2.5 cents. For Sale by 
scholars of Whipple and Farragut schools, by 
comrades of Storer Post, and at the stores of 
Mercer Goodrich, M. M. Collis, and W. H. 
Smith, on Market street, which by paying Ih 
or 2.") cents additional, according to the loca 
tion of seats, can be exchanged for reserved 
seats on the morning of Friday, Xovember 
)4th, from ^t to 12 o'clock, at the "box-oflice at 
Music Hall, and afterwards at Goodrich's 
Bookstore. 

Doors open at 7,30 p.m. Kntertainnient to 
commence at S p. m. sharp. 

(Adveitjsement, Times, 11 Jsovember. 1890.) 



25 



address was pointed and eflfective; it was 
this: "Alabama" — Here we rest. 

Of the concluding exercises space for- 
bids mention, with the exception of the 
"Ballad of New Orleans," a masterly 
recitation by Miss Alice M. Sides, 
daughter of Capt. John S. Sides of this 
city, a widely known war veteran. 

The fair speaker gave her subject full 
justice and was made to endure the pen- 
alty her talent; provoked ; but it hap- 
pened, unfortunately, that she had looked 
up only Sheridan's Ride, as being practi- 
cal and appropriate, and, after bowing her 
thanks to the resolute audience, retired to 
consult with Miss Green upon the 
misfortunes which attend public speakers. 

The Post is to be co' gratulated upon 
the pronounced success of the occasion, 
the participants being entitled to the 
highest consideration for valuable aid to 
worthy cause. To them The Times begs 
to express, in addition to the liberal com- 
mendation of the great audience, its most 
distinguished consideration. 

{Times, 19 November, 1890.) 

Resolutions. 

At a meeting of Storer Post, No. 1, G. 
A. R., on Wednesday evening, Nov. lOih, 
1890, the following resolutions were unan- 
imously adopted ; 

TlEsoi.vED. Tfat tlielhanksof storer Post 
No. 1, Dt'pariment of N«w Hampshire, Grand 
Army ol the Republic be pre.-ented Comrade 
Cbaries O. < arpen'er, Captwin, U- S. Navy, 
presirient (f the evening; and to Conii-ade 
Josi pii A. Smiih, I'ay Inspect'!-, U. S Navy, 
oratoi- of the evening, for Ills elocxuent, vivid 
and most interesting lecture on the cruise of 
the Kearsarge and her fight with the 
Alabama, at the entertainnnent given by the 
Post at Music hall on the 18th of Noveiuber, 
1890. for the Whipple ano Fai-raput schools' 
portiait fudd; and to the seven veterans of 
the Kearsarge, William Y. Evans, L5 man H. 
Hartford, Martin Hoyt, True W. Prii-st, 
Thomas Salmon, and John W. Young of Ports- 
mouih, and Lyraan P. Spinnt-y of Kittery, 
who honored the Post by accepting seats on 
the platf>))m on this occasion ; to Miss Ethel 
Green lor her fine rendering of "Independ- 
ence Bell," in tribute to General Whipple; 
and to Mr. George D Hbittier aiid the 
scholars ol the Whipple and F«rragut schools, 
who ciieerluliy g-ive their aid to make the eu- 
teitainment a success. 

The thanks and compliments of i'torer 
Post are als'« presented to Miss Alice M 
Sides, oaughter of a veteran, lor her b^au 
li^ul flnd stirring recitati n of the "Pallad 
of New Orlcms," in honor of Admiral 
Farragut, which recalled that glorious vic- 
torv to many of its survivors among the 
audience, and deeplv touched thM hearts 
ot all her heaiers as she impressively re- 
lated the perils of the fight, and spoke the 
names of nival herofs, whose forms an" 
faces were once well known and are not 
yet forgoiten In Poiti-mouth, where, in 
gome cases, their relativeo and descendants 
still reside. 

The thanks of Storer Po't are also ten 
dered to Mr. Pickering and Miss Pierce, 



principals of the Whipple and Farragut 
schools for their a'siatance; to Mr. LaBrie, 
the orche-tra, and the Mozart Glee club, 
for their zeal on this cccasion; and to all, 
who, by their presence at the entertain- 
mei't, aided the Post in its purpose ol pre 
senting oil portraits of our Portsmouth 
tiemer of i.be Declaration of Independence 
an<i of America's great admiral to the 
school^ beaiir g their iiamep, as daily teaclr- 
ers of patriotism to coming generations of 
our desc^ndaT>1g 

Resolved. That a copy of the foregoing 
resolution be furnished to the city press. 

iPost, 20 November, 1S90 ) 

At the same meeting of Storer Post, 
November 19th, 1890, this resolution, 
already given on page 20, was unanimoos- 
ly adopted, viz : 

Resolved. That the Committee on Enter- 
taii ment be irs'ructed to arrange with the 
celebrated portrait painter Mr U D. Tenney 
of Concord, N. H , to paint suitable oil por- 
traits ot Gen. WilliHm Whipple and Admiral 
David G. Farragut for the Post, tohpve the 
paintings properly framed and suitably 
markc 1 with name and by whom presented, 
and dale, on a separate tablet or otherwise; 
and when they are completed to arrange lor 
their public pi esentatii 11 by the Post, through 
Its commander, to the City of Portsmouth ; to 
be hung in the room occupied by the senior 
class at the Whipple and Farragut schools 
re.^pectively, as long as the school houses 
shall fctand. 

James Russell liOtvell's Gift. 

The following letter was received from 
James Russell Lowell, of Cambridge, 
Mass., in reply to a letter from the Enter- 
tainment Committee of Storer Post, re- 
questing him to read before the Ports- 
mouth public in aid of the portrait fund 
for the Whipple and Farragut schools : 

Elmwood, 
Cambridge, Mass., Dec. 2, 1890. 
Dear Sir : — The state of my health will 
not permit me to give a reading in Ports- 
mouth, as you rf quest. Had I been able 
to do so. however, I beg to say that I 
could not have accepted any remunera- 
tion. 

I enclose three checks, payable to your 
order, of iwentv doUais each, in aid of 
your undertaking One is from my sister, 
Mrs. Mary Lowell Putnam, ore from mv 
niece. Miss Georgina Lowell Putnam, and 
the other from me. These I beg you to 
accept in furtherance of your enterprise. 
Faithfully yours, 

J. R. Lowell. 
Joseph Foster, Esq. 

At a meeting of Storer Post, held on 
the evening of December 17, 1890, ihe 
foregoii.g letter was read "and the noble 
action of Mr. Lowell was received with 
loud demonstrations of applause by the 
comrades, and the following resolutions 
were unanimously adopted :" 



26 



Besolved. That the grateful acknowledg- 
ments or Stor^r Post, No. ], Grand Army ot 
the K« public, Department of New Hampshire, 
be presented lo James Russtll Lowell ci Cam- 
bridge, Masp., "who is fitly ranked todav as 
the first citizen of our republic, because of 
what he has done for the mind and soul of 
America, and because of wiiat he is in linr- 
sel', above all his works," to his sister, Mrs. 
Mary Lowell Putnam, and to his niece, Miss 
G oigina Lowell Putnam, both of Boston, for 
their kind gifcs of twenty dollars each in aidof 
our "^Miippie and Farr:igut schools porirait 
tund,"and for their sympathy wiin the Post, 
thereby shown, in its eftorts to cheris > the 
historical memories of Portsmouth, and to 
Inspire our chil' ren and children's children 
with the love of home and country, by pre- 
senting oil portraits of their near kiiisujan, 
Gc' oral William Whipule ot Porti-mouih, 
signer of the Declaiation of Indepenilence, 
and of Admiral David G. Karragut, U S.N, 
hero of New Orleans and Mobile bay, to tie 
schools recently named in their honor at the 
suggt-stion of liie Post. 

Eesolved. That a copy ot these resolutions 
be lorwari ed to Mr. Lowell, ana to the ladies; 
and that a copy be farnishi-d to the press, as 
an additional i^roof of our appreciation of 
their kindness ami good will. 

CPosi, IS December, 1S90.) 

Other Contributions. 

The total receipts at the Entertainment 
held November 18th, 1890. were $278 50 
(of which $60 was from tickets sold bv 
scholars of the Whipple school, and $51.75 
from tickets sold by scholars of the 
Farragut school), and the expense.s were 
$96.10, leaving the net receipts $182 40. 

In addition to the .560 contributed by 
Mr- Lowell, his sister, and niece, $20 
was presented by a lady of Portsmouth 
who desired to remain unknown, and $5 
by Rev. E. M. O'Callaghan, in token of 
their sympathy, and good wishes; and 
these, with other contributions by mem 
bers of the Post, and the profits of the 
Entertainment of November 18th, 1890, 
covered all expenses. 

Admiral Farragnt's Portrait. 

The following letters in relation to the 
standard chosen for the portrait of Ad- 
miral Farragut will be found of interest. 

113 East 36th St., 
New York, Nov. 28th, 1890. 
Paymaster Joseph Foster, U. S. N., 

My Dear Sir : — Appreciating the honor 
which Sturer Post desires to confer on 
my father by presenting his portrait to 
the Farragut school at Portsmouth, I beg 
to state that the two most satisfactory oil 
paintings are to be seen at the Union 
League Club and University Club of this 
city The latter is probably the best. . . 

If the artist ever comes to the city I 
shall be very glad to show him the picture 
in the University Club, of which I am a 
member. 



I received a pamphlet from some one 
containing an account of the presentation 
of tne Flags to th^sthools. It was quite 
interesting aod I was glad to read the 
handsome compliment piid to my father 
by one c f his old officers. 

Very truly yours. 

LoYALL Farragut. 

New York, Dec. 12th, 1890. 
Paymaster Joseph Foster, U. S. N. 

My Dear Sir : — I saw a new one hun- 
dred dollar hill jesterday with the engrav- 
ing of my father, and I think it ia quite 
good. It seemed to me that it was an im- 
provement on the naval pension checks 
which make the Admiral verv sttrn 
in appearance. I hardly think they are 
from the same die. . . . 

Very truly yours, 

LoYALL Farragut. 

Treasury Department, 
Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 
December 6, 1890. 
Mr. Joseph Foster, 

Care Storer Post, No. 1, G. A. R., 
Portsmouth, N. H. 
Sir: — In reply to the icquiry made in 
your letter of the 29th of November, I 
have tc say that the portrait of Admiral 
Farragut in use by this Bureau was en- 
graved from a photograph furnished by 
Mrs. Farragut during the lifetime of the 
Admiral. 

Respectfully your?, 

Wm. M. Meredith, 
. Chief of Bureau. 

Mnnicipal Affairs. 

The board of Mayor and Aldermen 
held its regular meeting last evening, 
October 1st, 1891. . . . 

The following communication was re- 
ceived from Storer Post, G. A. R : 

Headquarters 
Storer Post, No. 1, G. A. R., 

Department w New Hampshire, 
Portsmouth, N. H., Sept. 21, 1891. j 

To the Honorable Board of Mayor and 
Aldermen of the city of Portsmouth, N. 
H. : 

GE^TLEMEN — lo acknowledgment of the 
courtesy of the city government of Ports- 
mouth in adopting the names for the 
Whipple and Farragut schools suggested 
by Storer Post, the Post has had oil por- 
traits of General Whipple and Admiral 
Farrasrut painted for presentation to the 
city to be hung in the rooms occupied by 
the senior classes at these schools, and 
respectfully asks in what m^njjer it will be 



27 



most agreeable to your honorable body to 
have the pictures presented. 
EespectfuUy, 

Joseph R. Curtis, 
Meshach H. Bell, 
"William Critchley, 
Joseph Foster, 
Charles N. Osgood, 
Henry S. Paul, 
Jefferson C Tilton, 

Comnaittee. 

The above was referred to committee 
on school houses. 

(.Times, 2 October, 1891.) 

Two members, Marcus M. Collis and 
Thomas Kennedy, were absent from the 
meeting of the Storer Post Committee 
when the foregoing letter was prepared 
and signed. 

General Committee. 

The committee on school houses of the 
City Councils, consisting of Aldermen 
Charles x'. Berry, W. A A. Cullen and 
Ira C. Seymour and Councilmen Robert 
W. Phiuney, John Frizzell and Samuel 
Maddock, duly authorized for the pur- 
pose, formed with the committee of 
Scorer Post a joint committee; to which 
a committee of five members of the Board 
of Instruction, Rev. Alfred Gooding, Rev. 
Henry E. Hovey, Major David Urch, and 
Messrs. Andrew P. Wendell and William 
H. Moore, and Superintendent of Schools 
Charles H. Morss, were added. 

This General Committee, of which Al 
derman Charles P. Berry was chairman, 
made all arrangements in relation to the 
presentation ot the Portraits of General 
Whipple and Admiral Farragut to the 
city. Invitations to the City Govern- 
ment, Board of Instruction, Ex-Mayors 
of Portsmouth, and other special guests, 
to participate in the presentation at Music 
Hall, were sent in the following form. 
The general admission to the Hall was 
free. Full details of the ceremonies have 
already been given. 

City Rooms, Portsmouth, N. H. 

November, 16, 1891. 
Dear Sir :— The General Committee of 
the City Government, Board of Instruc- 



tion and Storer Post, G. A. R., appointed 
for that purpose, cordially invite you to 
be present at Music Hall, and take a seat 
on the stagp, on Friday Evening, Novem- 
ber 20th, r891, at 7 45 o'clock, to partic- 
ipate in the presentation of the Oil Por- 
traits of General Whipple and Admiral 
Farragun by Storer Post to the City of 
Portsmouth, for the schools bearing these 
names. Respectfully, 

Charles P. Berry, Chairman. 
William H. Moore, Secretary. 

The following notification was sent to 
the members of S:orer Post : 

Headquarters "] 

Storer Post. No 1, G. A. R., I 
Department of Nwyy Hampshire, j 
Portsmouth, N. H., Nov. 18, 1891. J 
Comrade : — You are requested to be 
present in full uniform at G. A. R Hall on 
Friday evening, November 20th, inst. , at 
7 o'clock, for the purp">se of presenting 
the Oil Portraits of Gen. Whipple and 
Admiral Farragut to the Schools bearing 
their names ; presentation to take place in 
Music Hall. 

Per Order, 
Jos. R Curtis, Commander. 
C. H. Besselievre, Adjutant. 



The Whipple Family. 

General William Whipple, of Ports- 
mouth, N. H., signer of the Declaration 
of Independence, was born January 14th, 
1730, in Kittery, Me. He was the son of 
i;aptain William Whipple, senior, of 
Kittery^ grandson of Major Matthew 
Whipple* of Ipswich, Mass.. great grand- 
son of Captain John Whipple, and great- 
great grandson of Elder John Whipple, 
both also of Ipswich, 



* Major Matthew Whipple, of Ipswicli, Mass., grandfather of General William Whipple, 
Is stated in the Appendix to "The Presentation of Flags to the Schools of Portsmouth, 
N. H.," Portsipouth, 1890, page '20, to have been a grandson of Matthew Whipple of Ipswich 
(brother of Elder John Whipple), through his soii John. As both brothers, Matthew and 
.John, had sons John, "these three Johns are grievously confoumded by most writers who 
have noticed them," and following the authority there quoted the mistake occurred. It is 
now corrected on the authority of a scarce pamphlet, entitled " A brief Genealogy of the 
Whipple Family,' compiled by John H. Boutelle of Woburn, for Oliver M. Whipple, Esq., of 
Lowell, Mass., Lowell, 1857, where "the earlier generations especially have been traced 
through, and several important points, hitherto wrongly printed, are now satisfactorily in- 
vestigated," as stated in the " N. E. H.G. Kegister," vol. XI, page 360. 



28 



In England. 

"The Whipple family in this country 
undoubtedly descended from Matthew 
Whipple of Bocliinff, county Essex, Eng- 
land, a clothier. Will of December 19th, 
1616, probated January 28th, 1618, men- 
tions son Matthew, son John, daughters 
Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Anne [Amce?], 
Johane, Amye ; 'my sister, wife of Richard 
Rathbone; Hercules Stephens, grandchil- 
dren Hercules and Margaret Arthur, and 
Henry and Anne Coldham [CaldhamJ'. 

The two brothers, Matthew and John, 
who were settled at Ipswich some time 
before 1638, were probably the sons men- 
tione'i above. They settled at the 'Ham- 
let,' uow the town of Hamilton. John 
was a deacon or ruling elder of the First 
Church. He was freeman 1640, and rep- 
resentative for eight years between that 
and 1653. By first wife he had children- 
Mary, John, Susanna, Sarah, and prob- 
ably others." 

("N. E. fl. G. Register," Vol. XLII, pp. 99-100.) 

la this connection it is worthy of note 
that Rev. Nathaniel Rogers, minister at 
Ipswich from 1638 to 1655, was curate at 
Bocking from about 1626 to 1631. 

Rev. Nathaniel Rogers, born at Haver- 
hill, England, in 1598, "became curate to 
Dr. Barkham, at Backing, in Essex," 
about 1626. "Having served at Booking 
four or five years, he was called to 
Assington, in Suffolk, where he preached 
five years more." Here his labors were 
abundantly successful. But teeing that 
he could not dutifully subscribe 'the 
Articles of Visitation,' aod that a storm 
of persecution was about to overtake him, 
he concluded to flee to New England . . . 
After a long passage he arrived at Boston, 
in November, 1636, .... He was invit- 
ed to settle at Dorchester; but as those 
who c&me wi^h him could not be accom- 
modated there, he chose to come with 
them to Ipswich. Here he was ordained 
pastor, February 20, 1638." He died 
"July 3, 1655, ased 57." 

("Felt's Ipswich," Cambridge, 
1834, pp. 219-221.) 



The foUowiis full abstract of the will 
of "Mathewe Whipple the elder of Bock- 
ing, Essex", (which is two miles north of 
Braintree, in the same county), is taken 
from the "Genealogical Gleanings in 
England", by Henry F. Waters, in the 
"N. E. H. G. Register," Vol. XLlV, page 
389. Mr. Waters says that this will and 
the will of "John Amies of Bockin, 7 
April, 1647, proved 16 April, 1647,"' giving 
"the piece of cloth at home unto Mr. 
Rogers, John Whiple and a jerkin cloth 
of it 10 Mr. Norton of Ipswich, N. E." 



(who were then "Pastor," "Ruling Elder" 
and "Teacher" of the First Church at 
Ipswich — "Felt's Ipswich," pages 159, 
220. 222) ; and that of "John Hawkings 
of Brayntree, Essex. Gent., 3 September, 
1633, proved 18 October, 1633," devising 
"to my brother Francis Hawkins, my sis- 
ter Archer and my sister Whipple forty 
shillings apiece as remembrances of me;" 
of which abstracts are also there given, 
"relate undoubtedly to the family of 
Whipple in Ipswich, Massachusetts, de- 
scended from two brothers Matthew and 
John." 

"Mathewe Whipple the elder of Bock- 
ing, Ess'-x, clothier, 19 December 1616, 
proved 28 January 1618. 

My capital messuage or tenement, with 
the yards, gardens, orchards, members 
and appurtenances, situate in Bradford 
Street in Bocking, now in the occupation 
of me the said Mathewe, from and after 
my decease shall remain to Mathewe 
Whippell, mine eldest son, upon condition 
that he shall pay or cause to be paid to 
my son John Whippell four-'core pounds 
within three months next after my decease, 
and to my daughter Jane thirty pounds 
w'thin six months, and to my daughter 
Elizabeth thir y pounds within twelve 
months, and to my daughter Mary thirty 
pounds at one and twenty or day of her 
marriage, and to my daught.-r Ami-; thirty 
pounds at one and twenty or day of mar- 
riage, upon reasonable demand made by 
the said Jane, Eizabeth, Marv, and Amye. 

To my daughter Amce (?) six silver 
spoons of the better sort, two high latten 
candlesticks, my biggest brass pot and 
three pounds six shillings and eight 
pence. 

To my daughter Johane forty shillings. 

To my daughter Jane two silver spoons, 
two pewter platters of the greater sort, 
one pewter candlestick, one half headed 
bedstedle, my best flock bed, a flock 
bolster, a coverlet and a pair of blankets. 

To my daughter Elizabeth two silver 
spoons, one pewter candlestick, two 
j)ewter platters of the greater sort, a half- 
headed bedstedle, next the best, a flock 
bed, a flock bolster, a coverlet, a pair of 
blankets and the little chest which was 
her mother's. 

To my daughter Mary two silver 
spoons, two pewter platters and a pewter 
salt, a trundle bedsteadle, a flock bed, a 
flock bolster, a coverlet, a pair of blank- 
ets. 

To my daughter Amye two silver 
spoons, two pewter platters, a pewter 
salt, a trundle bedsteadle, a flock bed, a 
flock bolster and a pair of blankets. 

To my son John a joyned table and 



2§ 



frame staudins: in my old parlor (and 
other movables ) 

To my sister, wife of Eichard Rath- 
bone twenty shillings. To Hercules 
Stephens ten sbillinss To mv grand- 
children Hercules "Arthur, Margaret 
Arthur, Henry Caldham and Annie Cald- 
ham six shillings eight pence apiece. To 
the poor of Bocking twenty shillings. 

All the rest to my son Matthew, sole 
executor. ' Parker, 2." 

("X. E. H. G. Register," Vol. XLIV, p. 389.) 

It is said in the Virginia branch of the 
"Whipple family, that a history of the 
family from the time of William the Con- 
queror down to the time of Col. John 
"Wbipple of Prince Rupert's division of 
the Cavaliers, who emigrated to Virginia 
in 1662, can be found in the ancient 
Library at Birmingham, Enaland, where 
the Duadale and Thorpe MSS. are depos- 
ited, which manuscripts give a full ac- 
count of the aristocratic Colonial families, 
and were collected by G. P. R. James 
while Briti>h consul at Norfolk, Virginia. 

This history relates, it is further said, 
that the Whipple family originated with 
Henri De V : Hippie, a gentleman of Nor- 
mandy of the Vale de Suere (or Vale de 
SuedeJ. For his gallantry he was grant- 
ed the manorial estates of Wraxall — tak- 
ing the name of Wraxall. Richard Wrax- 
all— that is, Richard de V: Hippie — was 
knighted on the battlefield of Agincourt, 
and given the motto : "Fidele et Brave." 
Leaving Wraxall on account, of persecu- 
tion, the name of De V: Hippie was re 
sumed. which in the lime of Henry VII. 
(1485-1509), was anglicized into Whipple. 

In Azaerioa. 

*'We learn that there were three of the 
name of Whipple who settled early in 
New Eneland : Matthew and John (born 
about 1605), brothers, settled in Ipswich, 
in that part called the Hamlet, since 
Hamilton [If these two brothers are 
identical with Matthew and John Whipple, 
sons of Matthew Whipple of Bocking, 
England, good reasons for believing 
which nave been given, both were doubt- 
less born earlier than 1605 ; Matthew must 
have been of age in 1616, when appointed 
executor of his father's will, and was there- 
fore probably born several years before 
1595. Matthew died September 8, 1647, 
and John died June 30, 1669. ages not 
known.] The other, named David, 
settled In Rhode Island on a hill called 
Study Hill [Vo connection between him 
and the Ipswich family has been traced] " 

"Maithew Whipple settled early in 
Ipswich Hamlet: (Land was granted to 
him in 1638. His house was sold July 10, 



1647, to John Annable, tailor.— J. B. 
Felt.) His will, dated 3m. 7d., 1645 [ of 
which an abstract is printed in the 
"Antiquarian Papers," Ipswich, Mas? , 
April 1884], is on record at the Register 
of Deeds for the county of Eisex, la 
which he mentions his eldest son, John, 
sons Matthew and Joseph, and daughters 
[Mary — see abstract] Anna and 
Elizabeth. He leaves to bis eldest, John, 
one half of his estate; the other half to 
his two youngest sons Matthew and 
Joseph. He left wife Rise (Chute?), 
whom he married (Nov. 13. 1646 ?). His 
children were bv a former wife. He died 
September 8, 1647." 

("A brief Genealogy of the Whipple 
family," Liovvell, mas3 , 1857, page 3.) 

Elder John Whipple. 

Elder John Whipple, great great grand- 
father of General William Whipple, "re- 
sided at the Hamlet [part of Ipswich, 
now Hamilton, Mass.], and was Deacon 
and Ruling Eider of the First Church. 
[Edward Johnson (in his" Wonder- Work- 
ing Providence", London, 1654, reprinted 
in •' Massachusetts Historical Collec- 
tions", 2d series') "mentions Mr. Whipple" 
(Vol. IV. , page 25), "as 'one, whose gddly 
sincerity is much approvei.' " — "Felt's Ips- 
wich," page 159.] He and his brotber Mat- 
thew sustained various offices of trust. 
He was born about 1605 [or earlier — see 
above] " 

He "had a large grant of land in 1639, 
frerman in 1640 " [He "*vas Deputy 
to the General Court 1640—1642, 1646 
1650—16.53," "Felts Ipswich," page 159 ] 

"He had two wives, [Sarah (wife of 
John Whipple) who died June 14, 1658, 
stated in "Felts Ipswich" page 159, to 
have been the wife of Elder John Whip- 
ple, was probably the wife of his nephew 
John, — "Whipple Genealogy", pp. 4, 18] 
his children were by his first wif6. His 
will is dated May 10, 1669 ; his son Cornet 
John, Executor." 

"He left a widow Jennett (first hus- 
band Thomas Dickinson) whose will is 
on record at the Probate Office, Sufi"olk, 
Vol. 11, page 85, and children John, 
Susannah, reiict of Lionel Worth, Mary 
Stone, Sarah Goodhue, and Anthonv Pot- 
ter, son-in-law." ["Savage" adds a 
daughter "Elizabeth", who, he says 
"married perhaps Anthony Potter."] 

Sarah, just mentioned, "married Jo- 
seph Goodhue [of Ipswich], July, 1661, 
died July 23, 168 1". [She was born in 1641 , 
the youngest daugnter of Elder John 
Whipple, and her well known pious 
valedictory to her husband and children, 
first printed at Cambridge, New England, 
in 1681, was reprinted at Salem, Mass., 



§6 



in 1770, and again in the "Antiquarian 
Papers," Ipswirh. Mass., Decembtr, 1880, 
and January, 18S1 ] 

Elder John Whipple "died June 30 
1669, and his Inventory is on file at the 
Prooate office, Essex, presented by his 
son Cornet John Whipple (afterwards 
Capt. John Whipple) September 28, 
1669". 

("Whipple Genealogy," pp 3-4, -29-30.) 

Captain John Whipple. 

"John Whipple (Captain), [John] born 
about 1626; died August 10, 1683; aon of 
Elder Jnhn Whipple. He was sometimes 
called Junior, Cornet, and Captain." 
[He was freeman I6f)8, and "Representa- 
tive 1674,1679-1683". - "Savage."] "He 
was appointed a Captain of a troop to 
march for Marlborough against the ene- 
my, &c. His prospects for honor and 
usefulness were promising at the time of 
his death " "His estate was valued at 
£3000." He married first Martha Re>ner 
(a daughter of Humplirey Rnyner) born 

, died February 24, 1679; second, 

Elizabeth Faioe, June 28, 1680." 

Children [all by flist wife]. John 
(Major) born July 15, 1657, married June 
26, 1681, Catharine Layton, who died 
August IG, 1702, aged 62, he died June 12, 
1722 Matthew, born 1658. Joseph, born 
March 6, 1664, died in infancy August 1665 
Joseph (2a) born June 8, 1666. Susan, 

married Lane [Susanna, married 

John Lane, March 20, 1680,— "Savage"]. 
Sarah, born September 2, 1671, married 
Francis Wainwright March 12, 1686, died 
March 16, 1709, aged 38. Anna, boru Oc- 
tober 29, 1675 (?) 

("Whipple Genealogy," p. 30.) 

"Captain John Whipple, son of 'Elder' 
John, born in Essex, England, about 162G, 
. . . was appointed C'^rnet of the Ipswich 
Troop before 1675 [1663— "N. E H. G. 
Register," Vol. XXXVII, page 285] and 
Captain in 1G83 in place of Capt. "John 
Appieton. He was Lieutenant in Capt. 
Paige's Troop at Mount Hope, June, 1675 
[King Philip's War], and was appointed 
Captain of a troop raised for service un- 
der Major Savage in March, 1676 [in the 
same wa] ; wa^ with the army in ihe un- 
successful maneuvering of that cam- 
paign." 

("N. E. H. G. Register," Vol. XLII, p. 1( 0.) 

Major Matthfcw^ 'Whipple- 

"Matthew Whipple, [John, John — see 
page 27] of the Hamlet, died January 
28, 1739, in his eightieth year. He 
married [second — see below] Martha, 
daughter^f John, and grand daughter of 



General Denison. [ Major General Dan- 
iel Denison of Ipswich, born in England 
in 1612. who died Sept. 20, 1682, in Ips- 
wich, was for eleven years Major Gener- 
al of the colonv, and very prominent in 
colonial attair-". — See "Denison Memorial," 
Ipswich, Mass , 1882.] She died Sept. 12, 
1728, in her sixtieth year. Mr. Whipple 
left children. Matthew, John, William, 
who was of Kittery in 1730, where his 
son William was born, who was a signer 
of the Declaration of Independence and 
Brigadier General at the capture of Bur- 
goyne; — Jot^euh, settled in the ministry at 
Hampton Fails, and Martha Hartshorne. 
He had a malt-house and oat-mill, in 
which he carried on much business. To 
his mulatto servant he gave freedom. He 
bequeathed his house and lands to 
Matthew and John. Estate £3500. He 
held several offices in the town, was 
Justice of the Sessions Court, Repre- 
sentative in 1718, 1719, 1729. He was an 
energetic, useful and respected towns- 
man."— "Felt's Ipswich," Cambridge, 1834, 
pp. 176-177.) 

("Presentation of Flags," p. 20.) 

"Matthew Whipple (Major) born 1658, 
died, aged 80, January 28, 1738-9 [above 
mentioned], son of Captain John, and 
grandson of Elder J^hs, . . . married, 
first, Joanna Appieton, by whom he had 
children, Matthew, John, Joanna, Apple- 
ton and William. He afterwards married, 
June 10, 1697. Martha Rioge (or Rinige?) 

[Martha (Denison) Thing] born^ ,died, 

aged 60. Sept. 12, 1728, . . . [and had 
children] Joseph, Martha and Nathaniel." 

"His will is at the Probate Office, Essex 
County, in which he mentions sons, Mat- 
thew, Appieton, John, Joseph, William, 
and his dwelling house [and] malt house. 
Item. Mary Bradley, house keeper. Item. 
Mulatto servant, Nicholas Freeman, &c., 
Dec. 2, 1738." 

Children. — Matthew. John, born July 

22, 1689, married Hannah , died, aged 

92, February 9, 1781. Joane?, born July 
22, 1692. Appieton, born October 19, 
1693. William, born February 28, 1695-6. 
. . . Joseph (Rev), born July 31, 1701, 
and settled at Hampton Falls (graduated 
at Harvard University). [He was "or- 
dained at Hampton Falls, N. H., January 
15, 1727," and 'died February, 17, 1757." 

'N E. H. G. Regi5.ter," Vol. XIII, 

page 305] Martha, born January 7, 1704, 
died In infancy January 30, 1704. Na- 
thaniel, born Sept. 2, 1711." 

("Whipple Genealogy," pp. 31.32.) 

Joanna (Appieton) Whipple, grand- 
mother of General William Whipple, was 
the daughter of Samuel Appieton, (2d), 



31 



son of Samuel Appleton, (1st), both of 
Ipswich. 

Samuel Appleton (1st) was the son of 
Tbomas Appleton, of Little Waldicgfield, 
county Suffolk, England. ("Savage.") 

"Samuel Appleton, [1st] died June, 
1G70. He was born at Little Walding- 
fiokl, England, 1586; came to Ipswich 
1635, was admitted freeman 1636, and 
was Deputy to the General Court 1637. 
He left children, John, [a prominent 
citizen of Ipswich, born 1622, died 1700, 
(or 4 November, 1699, according to "Sav- 
age"), Representative to General Court for 
sixteen years between 1656 and 1678, 
whose opposition to the illegal taxation 
of Governor Andros in 1687, for which 
"he wag imprisoned fined and dis- 
franchised," is well known — see "Felt," 
page 171], Samuel, Sarah, wife of the Rev. 
Samuel Philips of Rowley, Judith, wife 
of Samuel, son of the Rev. Nathaniel 
Rogers, and Martha, wife of Richard 
Jacobs." 

"Samuel Appleton [2ud], sonof Samuel 
Appleton [Ist], died Auau.-t IG, 1692. He 
was born at Waldingfleld in 1625, and 
probably came to Ipswich when his father 
did. He married Hannah, daughter of 
William Paine, and for his second wife, 
Mary, daughter of John Oliver of 
Newbury, December, 2, 1656, she being 
born June 7, 1640, and died June 9, 1712. 
[He was born in 1624, married, second, 8 
December, 1656, Mary Oliver, the mother 
of Joanna (Appleton) Whipple, and 
died 15 May, 1696.— "Savage."] 
He left children, Samuel, John, Juditb 
Wolcott, Joanna Whipple, and Oliver. He 
had lost a daughter Downs, whose only 
child was Isaac. He held several offices 
in the town, was Represevitative to the 
Gfneral Court in 1669, 1671, 1673 1675- 
1677, 1679. 1680. He was of the Govern- 
or's Council In 1681-1686 1689-1692; Jus- 
tice of the Quartf-rly and GcLeral Sessions 
Courts, and of the Court of Oyer and 
Terminer, April 11, 1692, for the trial of 
persons charged with witchcraft. ["Res- 
olute in support of the liberty of the peo- 
ple against the unlawful taxation io 1687, 
he was imprisoned by Andros, and hardly 
released. See 'Hutchinson', I, 365." — 
"Savage."] He was covcerned in 
the iron-works at Lynn in 1645, 
though Ipswich became his permanent 
residence. — 1675, Oct. 23. The Assistants 
write him to keep five hundred men for 
the defence of the frontier towns at the 
west against the Indians. In thi> quarter 
he was several times successful in repel- 
ing the enemy and preventing several 
places from beiug consumed. When 
Hatfield was attacked, October 19, a bul- 
let passed through his hair, ao^ a Serjeant 



was mortally wounded by his side. De- 
cember 9. He served as Major in an 
expedition against the Narragansetls, and 
had the command of five hundred men in 
the great batrle. His skill and bravery 
and exertions did much towards securing 
victory. While in this campaign, he had 
his tent burnt, and his men lost their 
clothes and arms — His diversified and 
complicated duties, as a warrior, legisla- 
tor, and judge, he ably and faithfully dis- 
charged." 

("Felt's History of Ipswich," Cam- 
bridge, Mass., 1834, pp. 1.59-160 and 
169.) 

"The first husband of Martha Denison 
[above mentioned] was Thomas Wiggin 
[son of Andrew and Anne (Bradstreet) 
Wiggin], who was born 5 March, 1662. 
He was a grandson of Gov. Thomas Wig- 
gin, also of Gov. Simon Bradstreet. Mr. 
Wiggin dieo in early manhood, leaving 
but one child, Hannah. 

Widow Martha (Denison) Wiggin then 
became the second wife of Capt. Jonathan 
Thing, of Exei-er [N. H.]. They were 
married July, 1693, and had but one child, 
Daniel Thing, born 12 Mny, 1694 Capt. 
Jonathan Thing died 30 [or 31] October, 
1694; his first wife was Mary, daughter 
of Counsellor John Oilman, son of Edward 
Oilman, sen'r. He had two other sons, 
Edward and Mosps. 

Her third husband was Matthew Whip- 
ple, of Ipswich." 

l"Antiquarian Papers," Ipswich, 
Mass , .June, 1?S3. - ee also "l»eni- 

son Mt-mnrial," Ipswich, I8S2, nsa, e 
47, and "Bells His'ory of Exeter," 

Exeter. N. H., 1888, Genealogy, p 46.) 

Captain William Whipple, Senior. 

William Whipple, senior (Matthew, 
John, John), born 23 February, 1695-6, 
the fatntr of General William Whipple, 
"was a native of Ipswich, in Massachu- 
setts, and was bred a maltster. Having 
removed to Kittery in Maine, he followed 
the sea, durins: several \ears. He married 
[14 May, 1722— "N. E. H. G. Register," 
Vol. X, paae 48] Marv [born 26 De- 
cember, 1698 — "Presentation of Flags," 
page 21] the eldest daughter of Robert 
Cutt [2d] 

Her grandfather, Robert Cutt [1st] was 
a brother of John Cutt, the President of 
New Hampshire, and emigrated from 
England to the West Indies, where he 
married a wealthy widow, who ditd soon 
after. He then married Mary Hoet 
[Mary Hoel — "Presentation of Flags," 
page 20], an English lady, who had 
removed to the West Indies. Soon after 
their marriage they came to Portsmouth, 
New Hampshire, and subsequently re- 



82 



moved to Kittery, where Mr. Cutt estab- 
lished a ship-yard, aad carried on the 
busicess of ship-building very extensive- 
ly. They had two sons, Richard and 
Robert, and four daaghcers. [The 
daughters were Mary, Biidget, Sarah and 
Elizabeth. Richard was probably the son 
of Robert Cact (1st), by his tirst wife. 
Sometime subsequent to 1675, the widow 
of Robert Cuit (2d), married Capt. 
Francis Champernowne, "the loving 
nephew" of Sir Fernando Gorges the 
founder of Maine, and she and her 
children by Mr. Cutt received by gift or 
demise the principal part of Capt. 
Champernowne's estate. — See "Presenta- 
tion of Flags," pages 20-21 and note 
page 33», '-Historical Papers," C. W. 
Tuttle, Boston, 1889. 

Ic is related, in a not wholly reliable 
traditionary account (see page M) found 
among the papers of Col. Joseoh vvhipule, 
brother of General William Whip )le, and 
printed in the "N. E. H. G. Register." 
Vol. V. page 246, that Robert Cute (1st) 
was a native of Ba h, England, and r,hat 
his father was, the year he died, a 
member of Parliament. Richard Cutt 
was returned from Essex, for Cromwell's 
second parliament, in 1654, but not for 
that of 1656 ] 

Robert [Robert Cutt (2d)] married 
[18 April, 1698, — "Presentation of 
Flags," page 2i] Dorcas Hammond, the 
daughter of Mijor Joseph Hammond, 
whose father, having been an adherent 
of Oliver Cromwell, left England 
on the death of the Protector 
[who died 3 September, 1658], came 
to this country and settled la Kictery 
[See page 34]. They had four daughters ; 
Mary, the wife of William Whipple 
[senior] ; Catharine, who married John 
Moflfat, a merchant, who then 
resided at Kittery, but afterwards 
removed to Portsmouth; Mehitable, 
who married J ich^m Oliorne, mer- 
chant of Portsmouth; and Elizabeth, 
who married the R^v. Jos^^ph Whipple, 
the brother of William Whipple [senior], 
and who settled in the ministry ac Hamp 
ton Falls. 

Mr. Cutt possessed a large estate, and 
his daughter, Mrs. [William] Whipple 
[senior], inherited trom him a very 
valuable farm in Kittery, situated on the 
eastern branch of the Piscataqua river, 
opposite to the island where the Navy 
Yard is now established, and within view 
of the town of Portsmouth. Mr. Wnip- 
pie now abandoned his nautical pursuits. 
and resided on this estate, which he held 
in right of his wife, where he employed 
himself as a farmer and maltster. Mrs. 
Whipple was a lady of excellent sense, 



agreeable manners, and many pleasing 
[accomplishments. [He died 7 August, 
i 1751, aged 56 years. She died 24 Febru- 
ary, 1783, aged 84 years. — "Presentation 
of Flags", page 22 ] They had Ave chil- 
dren ; William. Robert, Joseph. Mary, 
and Hannah [Majy, William, Hannah, 
Robert Cutt, and Joseph]. 

[1 ] Mary Whipple, tne eldest daugh- 
ter, married Robert Trait [Traill], Es- 
quire, comptroller of the port of Ports- 
mouth previous to the Revolution. They 
had three children, Robert, William and 
Mary : Robert and William went to 
Europe, where they settled; and Mary 
married Kieth Spencer [Keith S pence], 
E -quire, a merchant from Scotland who 
settled in Portsmouth. Captain Robert 
T. Spehce, their son, holfis [1824] a dis- 
tinguished rank in the Navy of the United 
States. 

[Mary, "born 13 Januarv, 1728" [or 
perhaps later] married Robert Trail 
[Traill] of Boston, 1 Sepfemher. 1748.— 
'•N E. H. G. Register," Vol X, page 48. 
She survived her husband and "died 3 Oc- 
tober, 1791, aged 61" [as stated on her 
gravestone] — "Presentation of Flags," 
page 21 ] 

[2] [William Whipple, born 14 Jan- 
uary, 1730 —"Register," X, 48— died 28 
Njvember, 1785; ihe Signer of the Dec- 
laration of Independence.] 

[3 ] Hannah Whipple, the youngest 
daughter, married the Hon. Joshua Brack- 
ett, an eminen- physician in Portsmouth, 
who, during the Revolution, was judge 
of the maritime court of New Hampshire. 
Her mother, Mary Whipple [Mary (Cu't) 
Whipple], resided with her after the death 
of her Husband, and died 1783, at the 
advanced age of eighty- five years [See 
above]. 

[Hannah, b >rn 15 February, 1734-5; 
married Dr. Joshua Brackett, of Ports- 
mouth. 14 April 1760. He was born la 
Greenland, N H, May, 1733 and died in 
PortsmMith 17 July, 1801 [1802].— "Reg- 
ister," X, 48 They had no children. 
She died 24 April, 1805, aged 71.— "Presen- 
tation of Flags," nage 21 ] 

[4 ] Robert [Robert Cutt Whipple] 
died when he was about nineteen [twenty- 
five] years of age. 

[Rooert Cutt, born 6 April, 1736; died 4 
May, 1761, aged 25 -"Register" X, 48.] 

[5.]— Joseph [Whipple] was educated in 
the counting mom of Nathaniel Carter, 
a merchant of Newburyport, and establish- 
ed himself in business in Porisraouth, in 
company with his brother : they continued 
their mercantile connection until a short 
time previous to the commencement of 
the revolutionary war. He was after- 
wards appointed collector of the port of 



33 



Portsmouth, tlrst by tr e state of New 
Hampshire, and after the adopt'on of the 
federal consti'Ution, by th« PresideDt of 
the United States : he held this office, 
with a short intermiswion, until a few 
months before his dea'h. He died with- 
out issue, on the twenty sixh of 
February, 1816, in the seventy-eighth 
jewr of his age. 

[Jiiseph, born 14 February, 1737 8; 
married Hannah Billings of Bo-ton, 9 
Odober, 1762. He was collector of the 
customs in Fortsmomh — ' Rtgiater," X, 
48. Col. Joseph Whipple took part in 
the early settlement of Coos county. New 
Hampshire, and was living at Jeff rson as 
early as 1773 He was captored there by 
the Indians during the Revolution, but 
escaped. — "M<•.Clintocl^'s H story of New 
Hampshire," B .ston, 1889, pages 305-307 
He afterwards returned to Portsmouth. 
When "Col. Joseph Whipple was 
Oolle<!tor," he "tran-aited the business in 
the office adj ining his residence on State 
street.'' — "Hambles," I, 227. He "resided 
in the house then and now standicg at the 
northeasr. corner of State and Chestnut 
streets, Portsmouth (Mo. 79 State S') " 
Hannah, wife of Coi. J..seih Whip- 
ple, died 30 January, 1811, aged 75 vears. 
— "Preseniaion tf F.ags," page 21 ]" 

i*'P.ingraphy of ttie Sigcers to the 

DeclHr.itjcin oi Ir-'spendenee." 
PhiiaUeli hia, 1824, Vol. V., pp. 75 77. 

Two interesting letters on public 
matters from General William Whipple to 
Hon. Josiah Bartlett (who long served 
together in Corgr s-), aated P>rtsmonth, 
July 12, and September 13, 1778, will be 
found in the "N. E H. G. Register," Vol. 
XXX, pages 317-320. 



JauBS Enssfill LowbH. 



His Fortsmonth Ancestors. 

It is a plpasure to the manv admirers of 
James Russell Lowell in Portsmouth to 
know that several generations of the ma 
ternal ancestors of this most eminent poet, 
essayist and statesman, whose recei t 
death, 12 August, 1891, in Cambridge, 
Mass. , has been mourned wherever the 
English language is spoken, resided on 
the banks of the P'scataqna, and that he. 
and all of his father's family always had 
a strong interest In the Portsmouth stock 
from which they sprung. 

That this interest was a reality was 



shown only a few months since by the 
kindly and generous gifts of Mr. Lowell,, 
and of his sister aud niece, Mrs. and Miss 
Putnam. In aid of the fund for the oil por- 
traits of General William Whipple and 
Admiral David G. Fairagut, soon to be 
presented to the Portsmouth schools- 
bearing those names, by Storer Post, No. 
1, G A. R. , of this city. 

James Russell Lowell, born 22 Feb- 
ruary, 1819, In Cambridge, Mass , son 
of Rev, Charles and Harriet (Spence) 
Liwell, was grandson of Keith and 
Mary (Traill) Spence of Portsmouth, and 
great-grandson of Robert and Mary 
(Whipple) Traill, also of Portsmouth. 

Robert Traill, born In the Orkney Islands^ 
was a distinguished merchant of Ports- 
mouth, comptroller of the port until the 
Revolution, and afterward collector of 
the Island of Bermuda. He resided in 
the house then and now standing at the 
south A est corner of State and Fleet 
streets (No. 82 State street). Mrs. 
Traill survived her husband, and died) 
3 October, 1791, aged 61 years, ihelr 
only daughter, Mary, married Keith' 
Spence, a merchant from Scotland, who- 
settled in Portsmouth, Purser, U S. N. ,. 
lSnn-1805, whom she survived, and died 
10 January, 1824, aged 69. 

Mr. Lowell's great grandmother, Mary 
(Whipple) Traill, was a daughier of 
Captain William Whipple, senior, and'" 
Mary (Cutt) Whipple The latter died 24 
Febnary, 1783, aged 84, and the asheo of 
<'f Mrs. Whipple, Mrs. Traill and Mrs., 
Spence, three direct ancestors of Mr;. 
Lowell, rest in the North cemetery, Ports- 
mouth, where their stones may be seen' 
on the rising ground near the center of 
the cemetery close to the stone of their 
distinguished son, brother and uncle. 
General William Whipple, sitiner of the; 
Declaration of Independence. 

explain William Whipple, senior;, 
resided In the "Whipple garrison? 
house" In K.ttery, Me., previously 
the home of Robtrt Cutt 'v2d) , 
where Harrison J. Philbrick now 
lives, and died 7 August, 1751, aged 
56 Capt Whipple's stone and those of 
Robert Cutt (2d), who died 24 September,. 
1735, aged 69, and of Dorcas (Hammond) 
Cutt who died 17 November, 1757, aged 
83, his wife's father and mi)ther, a^e yet 
standing in the cemeterv near the Cham- 
p^rniwue Hotel in Kittery, so that a 
pilgrimage to the graves of these four 
generations of Mr. Lowell's ancestors 
may, and doubtless will be often made in 
the coming years by those residents In, 
and visitors to our city, who enjoy the 
wiltings and rejoice in the fame of this- 
distinguished son of Portsmouth. 



34 



Captain William Whipple, senior, 
(Mailhew, John, John,) was born in Ips- 
wich, M-^ss., whir.her his great grand- 
father Elder John Whipple came from 
Essex, Euglana, in or before 1639 [Oor- 
rectfd— see page 27], and the Wh'pples 
were Ipswich peop e, as related more at 
length in the biographical not'ce of Gen 
erai William Whipple, in the appendix to 
♦•The Presentation of Flags to the Schools 
of Portsoiouth, N. H., October 9, 1890," 
Porr.smnuih, 1890, page 20 [and on pages 
27-33 of this pamphlet]. 

Robert Cutt (21), however, was of this 
locality, 8on ot Robert Cutt (1st), who 
was a brother of John Cutt, President of 
New Hampshire, 1(379, who with their 
brother, Richard Can., came to this vicin- 
ity previous to 1646 from Wales, as re- 
lated, with much other information as to 
the Cutt family, in the "Rambles about 
Portsmouth" Series I, page 29, and Series 
II. pages 142-153, and concerning whom 
further interesting details will be found 
on pages 20 and 21 of the pamphlet just 
mentioned. 

Robert Traill Spence, appointed mid- 
shipman, U S N. , 15 May, 18uO, who dis- 
tinguished himself in th- attack on 
Tripoli, 7 August, 1804, as related in 
•'Coopers Naval History," and who died 
a captain, 26 September, 1826. was a 
brother of Mr. Lowell's mother. 

Madam Ebzabeth (Cutt) Lowell, whose 
stone stands in the North cemetery near 
that of General Whipple, was the General's 
aunt, his mother's sister, and 'he dauah 
ter of Robert (2d) and Dorcas C Hammond) 
Cutt. She was "b >rn 20 March, 1710" 
(or perhap-i earlier), and married, first, 
Kev. Joseph Whipple, of Hampton Falls, 
brother of Captain Wil iam Whipple, 
senior, and second. Rev. John Lowell, of 
Newburyport, Mas-*. , whom she also sur- 
vived, and "died 22 September, 1805, aged 
97." as stated on her gravestone She left 
no descendants. 

Rev. John Lowell, minister of New- 
burvport, Mass., 1726-1767, who died in 
1767, aged 63, (a descendant of Percival 
L >well, of Bi-istol, England, who settled 
in Newbury, Mass., in 1639, and died there 
Id 1665.) was father ( f Judge John Low- 
ell, 1743-1S02, grandfather of Rev. Cbarles 
Lowell, 1782-1861, and great, grandfather 
of James Ru»sell Lowell, who by his 
great grandfather's second marriage with 
Elizabeth (Cutt) Whipple, was thus again 
connected with, though not in a second 
line descf-nded from Robert Cutt;. (2d), and 
Dorcas (Hammond) Cutt, of Kitiery. . . . 

Further information of the maternal 
ancestors of Mr. Lowell will doubtless be 
found in the "Cutts Genealogy" soon to 



be published by Cecil Hampden Cutts 
Howard of Brooiilyn, N Y. 

JosFPH Foster. 
(Journal, 5 September, 1891.) 

The foregoing article, with a few tin- 
important changes, was also printed in 
the "Magazine of American Historv" for 
October ,"1891, Vol. XXVI, pages 312-318. 

Additional Notes. 

Dorcas (Hammond) Cutt, born in 1674, 
wife of R )bert Cutt (2'1), was the daugh- 
ter of Major Joseph Hstnmond, Kittery, 
1680, born 1647, died 24 Februarv 1709-10; 
who was the son of William Hammond, 
of Wells, Maine, 1656. or earlier, a man 
of consequence, grand juror, next year 
clerk of the writs, and commissioner for 
small causes until 1679. said to have been 
b'>rn in 1597, died 1702. Major Joseph 
Hammond was probably the major cairied 
prisoner by the French, 1695. to Canada. 
as "Hutchini-on," Vol II, pages 89 and 
180, tells; and counsellor of Massachu- 
setts. He left one son and two daughters. 

Catharine, wife of Major Joseph 
Hammond, was the daughter of Nicholas 
Frost, born about 1595 at Tiverton, in 
Devonshire, Eoglano, who came to 
Kittery, pr-bably before 1632. and died 20 
July, 1663; she was born in England, 
coming to America with her lather and 
mother, and married first, about 1G55, 
William Leighton of Kittery, who died 
September, 1666, and, second. Major 
Joseph Hammond, whom she outlived; 
and died 1 August, 171i^. 

Col. Joseph Hammond, brother of Dor- 
cas (Hammond) Cult, di"d in Eliot, 
Maine, 26 January, 1753, aged 75. 

("Savage's Genealogical Piction- 
ary," Boston, I86ii, Vol 11, pp. 212, 

345, and 317-348, unci Vol. Ill, p 44. 
Hee iilso"N. E. H. G. Rt gister," Vol. 

IX, p. 312.) 

The information concerning the 
ancestors of Dorcas (Hammond) Cutt 
given in the "Rambus about Ports- 
mouth," series II, pages 145-146, is not 
exact; and the statement in the "N. E. 
H. G. Register," Vol. V. page 246, that 
Major Joseph Hammond's father 
supported, and Nicholas Frost opposed 
Monmouth's rebellion in 1685, is erroneous, 
as both emigrated to this country many 
years before, and the latter died in 1663. 
William Hammond was probably 
an adherent of Oliver Cr 'mwell as stated 
on page 32, but Nicholas Frost left 
England long before the uprising against 
Charles the 1st, who was executed 30 
January. 1649. and therefore could hardly 
be considered as having been one of hift 
adherents as stated in the "Rambles." 



35 



Mr. Iiowell'a Maternal Ancestors. 

To THE Editors of the Critic: — 
James Russell Lowell and tbe Rev. R bert 
T. S Lowell were not sraodsons of Rob- 
ert Traill Soence, an offl er of the Navy, 
as statefl in . . . "Appleion's Cyclcpfdia 
of American Biography" (Vol. IV, page 
43) in its notice of the Rev. Ctiarles 
liowell; bat wereCapt. Spence's nephews, 
the children of his sister Harriet (Spence) 
Lowell. 

Capt. Robert Traill Spense, U S. N.. 
was appointed a Midshipman 15 May, 
1800, Lieutenant 17 February, 1807, Com- 
mander 24 July, 1813. Captain 28 Febru- 
ary, 1815, and died, 2G September, 1826— 
aged 38 years. R*' oistinguished himself 
af a Midshipman during the attack on 
Tripoli, 7 August 1804, tlnishirg the load- 
ing and tiriDg tbe long 26 pounder, of 
wnich he was in charge as his vest-el sank 
under the enemy's Are, as related in 
"Cooper's Naval History." New York, 
1866 (Vol. I , page 246). See also 
"Galdsborough's Naval Curunicle " Wash 
ingtor, 1824 (Vol. I., page 228), and 
"Lessiog's Pictorial Field- Book of the 
War of 1812 ' (page 121). . He was highly 
praised by Commodores Treble acd Deca- 
tur for his gallant conduct. He rose very 
rapidly in the Navy, and in Commodore 
R ger's report of S<-ptember 23, 1814, in 
relation to the services of the naval 
forces during the British attack on Balli 
more in 1814, was spoken "f as a gallant 
and meriioiious officer. (See als<> "Coop- 
er's History," Vol.11., page 139) He 
was a man of great information, and a 
.good writer both in prose and poetry. 
He was in command of the naval estab- 
lishment at Baltimore for several year' 
before his death, and is buried in Loudon 
Park cemtterv near ihat city. 

Capt. Spence's father (Mr. Lowell's 
gra dfather), Keith Spence of Ports- 
mouth, N, H., Purser, U S. N , 1800-05, 
'a gentleman justly held in high estima- 
tion for his probity, intelligence, and 
nice sense of honor', 'was the bos' m 
friend and mentor of Decatur' ("Golds- 
borough's Chronicle," Vol. I, page 228) 
He was Purser of the frigate 
Philadelphia, when that vessel was 
captured by the Tripolitans. 31 October, 
1803 ("Cooper," Vol. I, page 226), and 



was a prisoner in Tripoli during the at- 
tack of 7 Augu-'t 1804, in which his son 
distinguif-hed himself, as already men- 
tioned. He died suddenly at New Or- 
leans, and was buried there. 

Tbe Hon. Carroll Spence of Baltimore, 
Maryland, appointed Minister to Turkey 
by President P'erce, and who negotiated 
the flr.>*t treaty with Persia, is a son of 
Capt Spence; and the late Commodore 
f^harles Whipple Pickering, U. S. N.,of 
Portsmouth, N H [son of Isaac and 
Louisa Joseplia Whipple (Spence) Picker- 
ing], was his nephew; both cousins of J. 
R and R T S. Lowell. . . . 

In the study of heredity, the female line 
is often, as here, a mine of wealth. 

Joseph Foster. 

Portsmouth.. N. H , Sept., 1891. 

(The Critic, New York, 10 Octt ber, 1*91.) 

His Paternal Tlnoeslors. 

James Russell Lowell "was of the 
eighth generation [of the Lowells] in 
this country .... The Rev. John 
Lowell [of Newburyport, Mass.], James 
Russell Lowell's great graDdfather," 
[already meniioueo on page 34] 
oeing the son "of Ebenezer Lowell of 
Boston, shoemaker, and grandson of John 
Lowell of Boston, a cooper The last 
named John of Boston was the son of 
of John Lowell of Newbury, and grand- 
son of Percival Lowell, . who 
came from Bristol [England] to Newbury 
in 1639." 

(F. L Gay. of Brookline. Mass , 
The Critic, New York, 29 Augu.st, 1891.) 

The Commemoration Cde. 

"All will now admit James Russell 
Lowell to have be^n the author of the 
tln-^st single poem yet produced in this 
countr> , the 'Commemoration Ode'." 

{The Critic, New York, 22 August, 1891.) 

In the study of Mr. Lowell's character 
and works. It is worthy of remembrance 
that Professor Charles Eliot Norton, of 
Cambridge, Mass., James Russell Lowell's 
literary execucor, says, that "many of 
the most striking traits of Mr. Lowell's 
character and genius came to him from 
his mother's side." 



NOTICE. 



A copy of "The Preseutation of the Portraits" will be mailed to any address; 
on receipt of twenty-five cents. 

A copy of " The Preseutation of Flags to the Schools of Portsmouth, N. H., 
October 9 1890, by Storer Post, No. 1, Grand Army of the Republic, Department of 
New Hampshire, with an Appendix relating to the Whipple and Farragut Schools,"' 
compiled by Joseph Foster, Pi. rt^mouth, 1890, 8yo, page^ 36; containing the ad- 
dresses at the preseutation of Flags, with an account of the naming of the Whipple 
and Farragut Schools ; a biographical notice of Geoeral William Whipple, with a 
description of ad guide to the spots in Portsmouth and vicinity made ever memora- 
ble as the birthplace, residence, and grave, of a Signer of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, and several letters written by him during the Revolution ; a sk«tch of Ati- 
miral Farragut's life, with a notice of his funeral in Portsmouth, August 17, 1870;. 
and some notes as to tlie names of the other Port^m uth schools; — of which only 
a few copies remain, — will be mailed to any address on receipt of fifty cents. 

Address Paymaster Joseph Foster, U. S. Navy, Portsmouth, N. H. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



002 355 908 



